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POMPEII. 



BOSTON: 

LILLY, WAIT, COLMAN, AND HOLDEN. 

1833. 



.xO 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Introduction, i' ^^ 

CHAPTER I. 
History of Vesuvius, 1^ 

CHAPTER n. 
Historical Notice of Pompeii, 43 

CHAPTER in. 
The Position and Territory of Pompeii, and its destruction and 
re-discovery, 49 

CHAPTER IV. 
Of the Walls and Gates of Pompeii, 64 

CHAPTER V. 
Public Roads — Streets of Pompeii, 92 

CHAPTER VI. 
Origin and use of Forum. — Architectural Classification of 
Buildings. — Description of Forum of Pompeii. — Temple 
- of Jupiter, 102 

CHAPTER Vn. 
Baths excavated in the year 1824, 153 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Theatres, 213 

CHAPTER IX. 
Amphitheatres , 278 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 
PLATES. 

Restoration of Pompeii, To face the Title. 

Plan of Pompeii, 93 

Plan of the Forum, with the elevations of the buildings re- 
stored, 109 
View of the Forum, 151 

WOOD CUTS. 

1 Vignette from Mazois' view of the City at the gate of Her- 

culaneum, looking towards StabioB, 11 

2 Glass bottle, partially destroyed by the heat of the lava, 

found in Herculaneum, 18 

3 Plan of the Bay of Naples, showing the relative situations 

of Pompeii and Herculaneum, 43 

4 Fac-simile of a rude drawing on the walls of a house in 

the street of Mercury, illustrating an historical fact 
mentioned by Tacitus, 47 

5 Implements used in building, showing the application of 

the same forms to the same necessities, 48 

6 Implements used in husbandry, 49 

7 Supposed appearance of Vesuvius and the face of the 

country after the eruption, 63 

8 Cyclopean Gallery at Nauplia, from Sir W. Cell's Ar- 

golis, 67 

9 Polygonal construction of the walls of a temple in Epirus, 

from Hughes's Travels in Greece, 68 

10 A representation of the construction of the Cyclopean 

walls, 69 

11 A representation of the construction of Etruscan walls — 

walls of Volterra, 70 

12 Walls of Fiesole, 71 

13 Walls of Cosa, ' 72 

14 Walls of Populonia, 73 



ILLUSTRATIONS. IX 

Page 

15 Walls and Gate of Segni, 74 

16 Walls of Todi, 75 

17 Section showing a restoration of the walls and agger of 

Pompeii, 76 

18 Interior of the battlements of Pompeii restored, ^ 78 

19 Walls and Towers of Pompeii as they exist, 79 

20 A comparison of the masonry of Pompeii with the Iso- 

domon or regular masonry of the Greeks, 80 

21 Greek wall, similar in construction to the walls of Pom- 

peii, from DodwelFs Travels in Greece, ib. 

22 Greek walls and towers, with battlements at Messena, 

from Stewart's Athens, 81 

23 Gate leading to Herculaneum, restored, 82 

24 Balista, from Newton's Vitruvius, 85 

25 Balista, with its rest, from ditto, 86 

26 Battering ram and tower, from ditto, 87 

27 Towers employed by Caesar at the seige of Alesia, 89 

28 Spear heads found at Pompeii, 91 

29 Entrance to Pompeii through the Gate of Nola, 92 

30 Plan of the pavement of Pompeii, showing the ruts form- 

ed by the wheels of carts and carriages, 99 

31 Plan of the stepping-stone in the centre of a crossing in a 

narrow street, and an elevation of the same with the 
wheels of the biga or carriage passing between the 
kirb on either side and the stone in the centre, 101 

32 Ancient Biga at Rome, in the Museum of the Vatican, ib. 

33 Plan showing the varieties of temples and intercolumnia, 105 

34 Bronze figures used as fountains found in Pompeii, 114 

35 Bronze cock closing the conduits, found in the island of 

Capri, 115 

36 Equestrian marble statue of Balbus found in Hercula- 

neum, 116 

37 Marble bas-relief found in Pompeii, representing a war- 

rior preceding his biga, driven by a black slave, 117 

38 Painting of an armed galley on the walls of the Pan- 

theon, 120 

39 Pastry-mould of bronze, found in Pompeii, 123 

40 Bread, from a painting on the walls of the Pantheon, ib. 

41 Gold ring, with an engraved stone, 124 

42 Paintings on the walls of the Pantheon, from which it 

has been supposed to be a large eating-house, 125 

43 Ditto, ditto, 126 

44 Ditto, ditto, 127 



X ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

45 View of the small Temple of Mercury, called by others 

of Quirinus, 128 

46 Bas-relief on the altar representing a sacrifice, 129 

47 Utensils used in sacrificing, 130 

48 Ornaments of sacrifice on the sides of the altar, 131 

49 Representation of a wine-cart, and the manner of filling 

the amphora, 132 

50 Manner of carrying the amphora, 133 

51 Urn for warm decoctions drank in the Thermopolia, 135 

52 Section of the urn, ib. 

53 Representation of the false door, and statue of Eumachia 

in the Chalcidicum, 137 

54 Fountain and reservoir in Triviis, near the house of 

Sallust, 139 

55 Fac-simile inscription, representing the manner of Writ- 

ing on the walls of the buildings in Pompeii, 140 

56 Fac-simile inscription within an album, 141 

57 Ditto, ditto, 142 

58 Plan showing the construction of the columns of the 

Basilica, 144 

59 Mosaic border in the Temple of Venus ; the centre part 

is from the Museum at Naples, 147 

60 Terminal figure in the Temple of Venus, 148 

61 Dwarfish figures painted on the walls of the Temple of 

Venus, 149 

62 Painting of Bacchus and Silenus, in the apartment of 

the priest in the Temple of Venus, 150 

63 Construction in wood and stone of the Araiostyle por- 

tico of the Forum, 151 

64 Representation of a Male Centaur and a Bacchante, 

from the paintings found at Herculaneum and Pom- 
peii, 152 

65 Ditto, a female Centaur and Bacchante, 153 

66 View of the exterior of the Baths as they now exist, 154 

67 Fac-simile inscription, announcing the dedication, or 

formal opening of the Baths, 155 

68 Plan of the Baths, 157 

69 Section of the Apodyterium and Frigidarium, 160 

70 Ornamented frieze in the Apodyterium, 161 

71 Glass vases found in Pompeii, 162 

72 Transverse section of the Apodyterium, 163 

73 Chariot race of Cupids in the Frigidarium, 164 



ILLUSTRATIONS. XI 

Page 

74 View of the Tepidarium, 165 

75 Telamones in the Tepidarium, 167 

76 Brazier found in the Tepidarium, 168 

77 Bronze seat found in ditto, ib. 

78 Section of the Caldarium, 169 

79 Part of the ceiling of the Caldarium, 172 

80 Ornament of the Tepidarium, 174 

81 Stucco ornaments in the ceiling of the Tepidarium, ib. 

82 Ornaments of the Tepidarium, 175 

83 Half of the plan of the Baths of Antoninus Caracalla, 183 

84 Strigiles used by the Romans to scrape themselves dur^ 

ing the operation of bathing, 186 

85 A slave with a strigil, from an Etruscan vase, ib. 
S6 Tweezers used to pull out the hairs of the body, after 

bathing, and vases for the perfumed oils with which 
they were anointed, 188 

87 A representation of Baths from the paintings discovered , 

in the Baths of Titus, 190 

88 Section of the Casteilum of Antoninus Caracalla, 197 

89 View of the Temple of Fortune in Pompeii, 206 

90 Flat drinking-cup of Terra Gotta, 207 

91 Steelyard found in Pompeii, 209 

92 Ditto, called Trutinse Campanae, 210 j 
■93 Scales, called Librae, or Bilances, 211 i 

94 Bronze lamp and stand, 212 

95 Figure with a mask, from a painting in Pompeii, 213 

96 Masks, dwarf, and dancing monkey, from the paintings 

on the walls of Pompeii, 216 

97 Tragic masks, from the Townley Collection in the Brit- 

ish Museum, 218 

98 Tragic and grotesque masks combined, from the Town- 

ley Collection, 219 

99 Masked figure of Silenus, 220 

100 Comic actors performing, from a painting in Pompeii, 221 

101 Tragic actors performing, 222 

102 Masks, from an ancient manuscript in the Royal Library 

at Paris, 225 

103 Comic Actors, from a painting at Pompeii, 228 

104 Ditto, ditto, discovered in the house of the fountains in 

Pompeii, 229 

105 Ditto, ditto, 230 

106 Plan of the Greek Theatre, 232 



Xll ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

107 Plan of the Roman Theatre, 242 

108 Mosaic Choragus, representing the manager directing a 

rehearsal, 244 

109 Plan of the large Theatre at Pompeii, 257 

110 A flute-player performing on the double flute, 260 

111 View of the large Theatre, taken from the upper part of 

the Cavea, 261 

112 Stone rings and corbels for the masts of the Velarium of 

the large Theatre at Pompeii, 262 

113 Plan of the small Theatre at Pompeii, 263 

114 Bisellius, or chair of state used by the authorities in 

Pompeii, 265 

115 View of the small Theatre in Pompeii, 267 

116 Helmet supposed to have belonged to the Gladiators, 269 

117 Greaves, or shin-pieces, supposed to have been worn by 

the Gladiators, 270 

118 Proportional compasses, calipers, compasses, rule, and 

weights, for drawing perpendicular lines, and level- 
ling, found in Pompeii, 271 

119 Comic mask on a tile found in Pompeii, 277 

120 View of the Amphitheatre, 279 

121 Plan of the Velarium, according to Fontana, 290 

122 Gladiators preparing to combat, 295 

123 Bestiarius, or combatant of wild beasts, 298 

124 Bestiarii; combatants of the same class, ib. 

125 A Bestiarius equipped in a similar manner to the Mata- 

dor in the Spanish bull-fights, 299 

126 Equestrian Gladiators, 301 

127 Gladiators ; the first of the class called Veles, the second 

a Samnite, 302 

128 Ditto, Thrax and Myrmillo, Retiarii and Secutores, 304 

129 Light-armed Gladiator and a Samnite, 306 

130 Lanista, Myrmillo, and Samnite, ib. 

131 Samnite and Myrmillo, 307 

132 Wild-boar hunt, ib. 

133 Bestiarius and bear, 303 

134 Bestiarius and bull, ib. 

135 Helmets and greaves of the Gladiators, drawn to a lar- 

ger scale, 309 

130 Plan of the Amphitheatre of Pompeii, 311 

137 Helmet of bronze, highly enriched, supposed from the 

shape to have belonged to a Gladiator, 313 

133 Enriched Echinus moulding, 315 



POMPEII, 




Vignette from Mazois' view of the city at the gate of Ilerculaneum. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The minute studies of antiquaries have been a very 
favourite subject of ridicule with those who have not fol- 
lowed them — sometimes with, sometimes without reason. 
In this, as in every other pursuit, men are apt to forget 
the value of the object in the pleasure of the chase, and 
run down some incomprehensible or untenable theory 
about some matter that never was and never will be of 
importance, with a zeal and intensity of purpose which 
might have been better bestowed upon a better end. But 
notwithstanding the many jokes, good and bad, deserved 
and undeserved, which have been levelled at this branch 
of learning, it is one in which all inquiring minds (and 
no mind that is not inquiring can be worth much), not 
entirely engrossed by some favourite occupation, will feel 



14 POMPEII. 

more or less of interest. If we could look into the fu- 
ture, the past would probably lose much of its importance 
in our eyes ; and our curiosity would be much more 
strongly excited to ascertain the state of the world a thous- 
and years hence, than its state a thousand years ago. 
But this power is denied us ; and to form an estimate of 
the character and capabilities of mankind more compre- 
hensive than the experience of a single generation can 
afford, we must apply to the retrospect of the past. Not 
that this curiosity influences none but those who might 
wish or be expected to draw profit from its gratification ; 
on the contrary, it seems a temper natural, in greater or 
less degree, to all alike, reflecting or unreflecting. It is 
that which causes us to look with pleasure on an antiquat- 
ed town, to grope among ruins, even where there is evi- 
dently nothing to repay us for the dirt and trouble of the 
search, and generally, to invest every thing entirely out 
of date with a value which its original possessors would 
be much puzzled to understand. 

But time works constantly, as well as slowly ; and 
therefore, however antiquated the appearance, and how- 
ever old-fashioned and changeless the habits of any place 
or people may seem to be, they are sure to present a very 
imperfect type of what they were even a single century 
ago. We have often wished, in various parts of Eng- 
land, that we could recall for a moment the ancient aspect 
of the country ; reclothe the downs of Wiltshire with 
their native sward, and see them studded with tumuli and 
Druid temples, free and boundless as they extended a 
thousand years ago, before the devastations of the plough 
and Inclosure Acts ; recall the leafy honours of Notting- 
hamshire and Yorkshire, and repeople the neighbourhood 
of Shefl[ield and the Don with oaks instead of steam-en- 
gine and manufactory chimneys ; or renew the decayed 
splendour of those magnificent monasteries whose ruins 
still strike the beholder with admiratioQ. If the romantic 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

fictions of the middle ages could be realised, which tell 
of mirrors framed with magic art to represent what had 
formerly passed, or was passing, in distant parts of the 
earth, the happy discoverer might soon make his fortune 
in this age of exhibitions . What exhibition could be found 
more interesting than a camera-obscura, which should 
reflect past incidents of historical or private interest, and 
recall, with the vividness and minuteness of life, at least 
the external characteristics of long-past ages. 

Such fancies are but idle speculations. The past can 
only be recalled by the imagination working upon such 
details as the pen or the pencil of contemporaries may 
have preserved ; yet, in one single instance, the course 
of events has done more to preserve a Hving picture of a 
former age — one, too, in which the civilized world is 
deeply interested — than we could reasonably have hoped 
for. Deserted places are usually too much dilapidated 
to convey more than a very imperfect idea of the minutiae 
of their arrangement, or of the manners of their former 
occupiers : places which have been preserved by being 
inhabited, are, of necessity, changed more or less to suit 
the changing manners of those who tenant them. It was, 
therefore, matter of no ordinary interest when it was known 
that a buried Roman city had been discovered ; a city 
overwhelmed and sealed up in the height of its prosperity, 
and preserved from the ravages of the barbarian conque- 
rors of Italy, and the sacrilegious alterations and pillag- 
ings of modern hands. But the hopes which might rea- 
sonably have been formed upon the discovery of Hercu- 
laneum, at the beginning of the last century, were frus- 
trated in great measure by the depth and hardness of the 
volcanic products under which that city was buried. The 
process of clearing it was necessarily one of excavation, 
not of denudation ; and to avoid the labour of raising 
the quarried matter to the surface, from a depth of 70 or 
80 feet, former excavations have been filled up with the 



16 POMPEII. 

rubbish of new excavations, and now the theatre is the 
only building open to inspection, and that an unsatisfactory 
and imperfect inspection by torch-light. Museums have 
been profusely enriched with various articles of use or 
luxury discovered at Herculaneum, which might serve to 
illustrate the Latin authors, and throw light upon the pri- 
vate hfe of Italy ; but no comprehensive view could be 
obtained, and consequently no new idea formed of the 
disposition and appearance of a Roman city. Fortu- 
nately, the disappointment was repaired by the discovery 
of Pompeii, a companion city overwhelmed in the great 
eruption of Vesuvius a. d. 79, together with Hercula- 
neum, and destined to be the partner of its disinterment 
as well as its burial. There was, however, this difference 
in their fate — that, owing to its greater distance from the 
volcano, the former was not then, and never has been, 
reached by the streams of lava which have successively 
flowed over Herculaneum, and elevated the surface of 
the earth from 70 to 100 feet. Pompeii was buried by a 
shower of ashes, pumice, and stones, forming a bed of 
variable depth, but seldom exceeding 12 or 14 feet, loose 
and friable in texture, and therefore easily removed, so as 
completely to uncover and expose the subjacent buildings. 
The upper stories of the houses, which appear to have 
consisted chiefly of wood, were either burnt by the red- 
hot stones, ejected from Vesuvius, or broken down by the 
weight of matter collected on their roofs and floors. With 
this exception, we see a flourishing city in the very state 
in which it existed nearly eighteen centuries ago : — the 
buildings as they were originally designed, not altered and 
patched to meet the exigencies of newer fashions ; the 
paintings undimmed by the leaden touch of time ; house- 
hold furniture left in the confusion of use ; articles, even 
of intrinsic value, abandoned in the hurry of escape, 
yet safe from the robber, or scattered about as they fell 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

from the trembling hand, which could not pause or stoop 
for its most valuable possessions : and, in some instances, 
the bones of the inhabitants, bearing sad testimony to the 
suddenness and completeness of the calamity which over- 
whelmed them. ' 1 noticed,' says M. Simond, ' a strik- 
ing memorial of this mighty interruption in the Forum, 
opposite to the temple of Jupiter. A new altar of white 
marble, exquisitely beautiful, and apparently just out of 
the hands of the sculptor, had been erected there 5 an 
enclosure was building all round ; the mortar, just dashed 
against the side of the wall, was but half spread out ; you 
saw the long sliding stroke of the trowel about to return 
and obliterate its own track — but it never did return : 
the hand of the workman was suddenly arrested, and, 
after the lapse of 1800 years, the whole looks so fresh 
and new that you would almost swear the mason was only 
gone to his dinner, and about to come back immediately 
to smooth the roughness.' 

It is unnecessary to expatiate upon the interest of these 
discoveries : yet notwithstanding their interest the subject 
has been hardly accessible to the English reader. The 
excavations have been prosecuted to a considerable ex- 
tent, since the elegant work of Sir W. Gell was publish- 
ed, which describes only the buildings, leaving untouched 
one interesting branch of inquiry connected with the nu- 
merous articles which have been found, throwing light 
upon the private life of the Italians in the first century. 
There are foreign works of great research and magnifi- 
cence, but these, from their value, are only accessible 
to a very small class of readers ; and therefore little has 
been generally known of Pompeii, except what may be 
gathered from the short and scattered notices of travellers. 
This work is intended as an attempt to supply the defi- 
ciency. It is proposed to give a detailed account of the 
ruins as they now exist, together with a description of 

their former state, as far as it can be made out ; with 

2=^ 



18 POMPEII. 

occasional digressions upon points connected with the 
history or antiquities of the place, and notices of the most 
curious and important articles which have been discov- 
ered. 

The chief authorities which have been consulted, are 
— the great work of M. Mazois on Pompeii ; the Museo 
BorbonicOj a periodical work now in course of publication 
at Naples ; Sir W. Gell's Pompeiana ; and Donaldson's 
Pompeii. We have also had the advantage of numerous 
observations made on the spot by Mr William Clarke, 
architect, by whom the materials for this work have been 
collected, and the drawings made, either from the origin- 
als or from plates in the above works. 




Glass bottle, partially destroyed by the heat of the lava, found in Herculaneum. 



CHAPTER I. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 



Before commencing the account of Pompeii itself, it 
will not be out of place to give a short description of the 
ancient state of the neighbourhood in which it stood, to- 
gether with a sketch of the history of Vesuvius. 

The Bay of Naples, anciently called Crater (the Cup), 
was known to the ancients at an early period. The re- 
markable appearance of its shores struck their fancy ; and 
they named them Phlegra, or Phlegraei Campi, Burnt 
Fields, from the traces of igneous action every where 
visible, and accounted for these natural appearances by 
the fabled battle between the giants and the gods, assisted 
by Hercules, in which the former were cast down and 
destroyed by Jupiter's thunderbolts. The earth, riven, 
scorched, and thunder-stained, bore enduring witness to 
the destructive power of these weapons. Here was the 
celebrated lake Avernus, the mouth of hell, according 
to the Italian poets, over which no bird could complete 
its flight, but dropped, overcome by the sulphureous ex- 
halations. This is one, probably, of that numerous tribe 
of legends which have been framed to fit or to explain a 
name. Its Greek name is Aornos, literally Birdless ; its 
dreary and terror -striking appearance, when its precipi- 
tous sides were thickly clothed with wood, suggested the 
notion that it was the opening of the nether world ; hence 
the story of the foetid atmosphere, and its deadly ef- 
fects. Yet even here there may be some foundation of 
truth ; for we have the authority of Sir William Hamil- 
ton for stating, that while wild fowl abound in other 
pools and lakes in this quarter, they shun Avernus, or 



20 POMPEII. 

pay it but a passing visit. ^ Diodorus derives the name 
of Phlegra from Vesuvius, which, he says, hke ^tna, 
used to vomit fire, and still retains traces of its former 
eruptions. I He spoke from observation of the moun- 
tain, not from tradition, for tradition recorded no eruption 
previous to the Christian aera 5 but he probably erred in 
the derivation of the name. Traces of volcanic action 
were as evident round Baiae and Puteoli as on Vesu- 
vius ; and the ancients appear to have had some record 
of eruptions in this quarter, since they fabled that the giant 
Typhon, who threw stones to heaven with a loud noise, 
and from whose eyes and mouth fire proceeded, lay buried 
under the neighbouring island of Inarime or Pithecusa, 
now called Ischia.J A similar fable accounted for the 
eruptions of -^tna. 

By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high. 
By turns hot embers from her entrails fly, 
And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the sky. 
Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown. 
And, shivered by the force, come piecemeal down. 
Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow, 
Fed from the fiery springs that boil below. 
Enceladus, they say, transfixed by Jove, 
With blasted limbs came trembling from above ; 
And where he fell the avenging father drew 
This blasted hill, and on his body threw. 
As often as he turns his weary sides 
He shakes the solid isle, and smoke the heavens hides. 
DrydeNj^ti. lib. iii, 572. 

We need hardly say that the poets vary in these stories: 
Ovid places Typhon under ^tna. 

In the superstitions of the middle ages, Vesuvius assum- 
ed the character which had before been given to Aver- 

* Campi Phlegrsei. BTr Lyell is also inclined to admit the story, 
and adduces instances of similar mephitic exhalations. 

t iv, 22. 1 Strabo, lib. v. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 21 

nus, and was regarded as the mouth of hell. Cardinal 
Damiano relates the following stories, in a letter address- 
ed to Pope Nicholas II. 'A servant of God dwelt 
alone, near Naples, on a lofty rock hard by the high- 
way. As this man was singing hymns by night, he 
opened the window of his cell to observe the hour, 
when, lo, he saw passing many men, black as JEthiopi- 
ans, driving a large troop of packhorses laden with 
hay ; and he was anxious to ask who they were, and 
why they carried with them this fodder for cattle ? And 
they answered, '' We are evil spirits, and this food which 
we prepare is not for flocks or herds, but to foment 
those fires which are kindled against men's souls ; for 
we wait, first for Pandulphus, Prince of Capua, who 
now lies sick; and then for John, the captain of the garri- 
son of Naples, who as yet is alive and well." Then went 
that man of God to John, and related faithfully that which 
he had seen and heard. At that time the Emperor Otto 
II, being about to wage war on the Saracens, was jour- 
neying toward Calabria. John therefore answered, '' I 
must go reverently and meet the Emperor, and take 
counsel with him concerning the state of this land. But 
after he is gone I promise to forsake the world, and to as- 
sume the monastic habit." Moreover, to prove whether 
the priest's story were true, he sent one to Capua, who 
found Pandulphus dead ; and John himself lived scarce 
fifteen days, dying before the Emperor reached those 
parts ; upon whose death the mountain Vesuvius, from 
which hell often belches forth, broke out into flames, as 
might clearly be proved, because the hay which those 
demons got ready was nothing else than the fire of that 
fell conflagration prepared for these reprobate and wicked 
men ; for as often as a reprobate rich man dies in those 
parts, the fire is seen to burst from the abovenamed 
mountain, and such a mass of sulphureous resin flows 
from it as makes a torrent which by its downward impulse 



22 POMPEII. 

descends even to the sea. And in verity a former prince 
of Palermo once saw from a distance sulphureous pitchy 
flames burst out from Vesuvius, and said that surely 
some rich man was just about to die, and go down to 
hell. Alas for the blinded minds of evil men ! That very 
night, as he lay regardless in bed, he breathed his last. 
There was also a Neapolitan priest, who wished to kno\< 
more of things not lawful to be known, who, when that in- 
fernal pit belched flames more fiercely than usual, with 
presumptuous boldness resolved to visit it. So having 
solemnized the mass, he went on his way, armed, as 
it were, with the sacred vestments ; but this rash in- 
quirer, approaching nearer than men use to go, never 
reappeared, being unable to return. Another priest, 
who had left his mother sick at Beneventum, as he trav- 
elled through the bounds of Xaples, and was intent upon 
the upstreaming flames, heard a voice of one bewailing, 
which he perceived evidently to be the voice of his mo- 
ther. He marked the time, and found it to have been 
the hour of her death. '^ This passage is taken from 
a letter from Cardinal Damiano to Pope Nicholas II, 
written about the year 1060. The superstition was natu- 
ral enough ; and similar ones were entertained at a much 
later date concerning JEtna and the island of Stromboh, in 
which there is a volcano in almost constant activity. There 
is a stor}' told somewhere of an English captain, who, while 
lying ofi'the island, saw a London merchant, with whose 
person he was well acquainted, running round the cra- 
ter, pursued by certain ominous looking followers, who 
finally caught him, and plunged with him into the abyss. 

The captain exclaimed in surprise, ' There is old !' 

On returning to London, he found that the man was 
dead. We have no accurate recollection of the story, 
and do not know where to look for it; but our impres- 

* Damiani Epistolae, lib. i, 9. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 23 

sion is that the captain, on relating these circumstances, 
and of course drawing his own conclusions, was actu- 
ally prosecuted for libel. 

Strabo, who wrote some part of his work at least in 
the reign of Tiberius about the commencement of our 
era, thus describes the Phlegreean Fields : — ' After 
doubling Misenum, next comes a lake (now Mare Mor- 
to), beyond which the coast falls back in a deep bay, 
where stands Baiae and its warm baths, useful both for 
purposes of pleasure and for the cure of diseases. The 
Lucrine lake borders upon Baiae ; within it is Lake 
Avernus. Here our ancestors placed the scene of Ho- 
mer's Nekuia;=^ and here, they say, was an oracle, where 
answers were returned by the dead, to which Ulysses 
came. Avernus is a deep hollow with a narrow entrance, 
in size and shape well suited for a harbour, but incapaci- 
tated for that purpose by the shallow Lucrine lake, which 
lies before it. It is enclosed by steep ridges, which over- 
hang it every where, except at the entrance, now highly 
cultivated, but formerly enclosed by a savage trackless 
forest of large trees, which threw a superstitious gloom 
over the hollow. The inhabitants farther fabled, that the 
birds which flew over it fell down into the water, destroyed 
by the rising exhalations, as in other places of this sort, 
which the Greeks call Plutonia, or places sacred to 
Pluto ; and imagined that Avernus was a Plutonium, 
and the abode where the Cimmerians were said to 
dwell. Here is a fountain of fresh water by the sea ; 
but all persons abstain from it, believing it to be the 
Styx; and somewhere near was the oracle. Here, also, 
as they thought, was Pyriphlegethon,| judging from the 

* The title of the Xlth book of the Odyssey, the scene of 
which is laid among the dead. 

t Pyriphlegethon, burning with fire; one of the three rivers which 
encompassed hell. Styx was another. It is doubtful whether the 
Acherusia here meant was Avernus, t Lucrine lake, or the Lago 



24 POMPEII. 

hot springs near lake Achernsia. The Lucrine lake in 
breadth reaches to Baise, being separated from the sea by 
a mound, about a mile long, and wide enough for a broad 
carriage-road, said to have been made by Hercules as 
he was driving Geryon's oxen. Being much exposed to 
the surf, so as not to be easily traversed on foot, Agrippa 
raised and completed it. It admits light ships, =^ is use- 
less as a naval station, but affords an inexhaustible supply 
of oysters. Here, according to some, was the lake Ac- 
herusia, but Artemidorus makes it the same with Avernus. 
Next to Baise come the shores and city of Dicgearchia, 
formerly a port of the Cumseans, placed on a hill. During 
the invasion of Hannibal, the Romans colonised, and 
called it Puteoli, from {Piitei) the wells; or, as others 
say, they so named the whole district, as far as Baiae 
and the Cumasan territory, from the stench (pw/or) of 
its waters, because it is full of sulphur and fire, and 
hot springs. Some think that this is the reason why 
the country about Cuma is called Phlegra, and that 
the thunder-riven wounds of the fallen giants pour out 
these streams of fire and water. Immediately over it 
is Vulcan's assembly-room (Hephgesti Agora, now 
the Solfatara), a level space surrounded by burning 
heights, with numerous chimney-like spiracles, which 
rumble loudly; and the bottom is full of ductile sul- 
phur. Next to Dicoearchia, is NeapoHs ; next to Ne- 
apolis, Herculaneum, standing on a promontory re- 

di Fucino, about two miles from Avernus and close to Cuma. 
There was another lake of the same name in Epirus. 

* Strabo has before said that Agrippa cut through this mound, and 
thus established a communication between Avernus and the sea. 
What he says here is entirely contrary to the later author, Dion 
Cassius, who asserts that in the hands of Agrippa, Avernus became 
an excellent port. This whole passage is in many parts very ob- 
scure, and may be suspected to be corrupt. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 25 

mark ably open to the south-west wind {Libs), which 
makes it unusually healthy. This city, and its next 
neighbour, Pompeii, on the river Sarnus, were originally 
held by the Osci, then by the Tyrrhenians and Pelas- 
gians, then by the Samnites, who in their turn were ex- 
pelled by the Romans. It is the port of Nola, Nuceria, 
and Acerrse, being situated on the river Sarnus, which is 
suited for the exportation and importation of cargoes. 
Above these places rises Vesuvius, well cultivated and 
inhabited all round, except its top, which is for the most 
part level, and entirely barren, ashy to the view, display- 
ing cavernous hollows in cineritious rocks, which look as 
if they had been eaten in the fire, so that we may sup- 
pose this spot to have been a volcano formerly, with burn- 
ing craters, now extinguished for want of fuel.'* 

It will occur at once to the reader, that this description 
is totally inapplicable to Vesuvius as it now exists. The 
general form of the mountain is too well known to need 
description, and certainly its elevated cone can by no 
stretch of words be characterised as a level top. It seems 
probable, from various considerations, that this cone is of 
comparatively recent origin. It stands within a circular 
volcanic ridge, called Somma, broken away to the south, 
where there is still a projection, called the Pedamentina, 
apparently marking the continuation of Somma. The 
most experienced observers seem agreed that this ridge is 
the remains of an ancient volcano, much larger than the 
existing one, and was once surmounted by a cone like 
that of ^tna, which, being subject to constant degrada- 
tion, and requiring constant supplies of fresh materials to 
maintain its height, sunk down into the earth, in the long 
period of inactivity which we know to have occurred 
antecedent to the Christian era. Parallel instances may 

* Strabo, lib. v. Such parts of the original as do not bear on 
our subject have been omitted, 
3 



26 POMPEII. 

be found in the lakes of Avernus and Agnano, which are 
evidently the sites of ancient volcanic cones which have 
fallen in, not craters of eruption. The reawakened fires 
of Vesuvius soon blew out the mass of materials which 
choked their former vent, and have formed around that 
vent a second cone, concentric with and similar to its 
predecessor, but of smaller dimensions. Instances exact- 
ly similar to this also occur: we may mention Barren 
Island, in the bay of Bengal, where an active volcano 
rises out of the sea, in the centre of what is evidently a 
sunken cone. The cone of the peak of TeneriflTe also 
rises in the middle of a circular enclosure, like Somma, 
and a process analogous to the formation of the cone of 
Vesuvius may now be frequently observed going on with- 
in the crater of that mountain, in which, during its peri- 
ods of activity, a minor mountain is continually rising.^ 
Finally, some volcanic mountains are known to have fallen 
in or to have been dispersed, as Papandayang, in the 
island of Java, which, in the year 1772, was reduced in 
height from 9000 to about 5000 feet. So also, in the 
province of Quito, a great part of the crater and summit 
of Carguirazo fell in during an earthquake in 1698.t 

Supposing, therefore, that the present cone is based 
upon the ruins of a larger mountain, it probably did not 
exist when Strabo wrote the above description, but was 
thrown up, in the first recorded eruption, in the year 79, 
or at some later period. This will agree with the neg- 
ative testimony of other authors, who make no mention 
of it, or speak cursorily of it ; not as we might expect 
them to mention so prominent a feature as it now is in 
the much admired scenery of Baiae and Naples. In 
Virgil, the name only occurs once ; and then it is intro- 

* Campi Phlegrsei, pi. 2, where there is a minute representation 
of the changes thus produced in the form of the mountain, 
t Lyell, Principles of Geology, ch. xxv, p. 436. 445. 



HISTORY OP VESUVIUS. 27 

duced to commend the fertility of the soil. It was on 
Vesuvius that Spartacus encamped, with his army of 
insurgent slaves and gladiators. ' The Romans besieged 
them in their fort, situate upon a hill that had a very 
steep and narrow ascent to it, and kept the passage up 
to them : all the rest of the ground round about it was 
nothing but high rocks hanging over, and upon them 
great store of wild vines. Of these the bondmen cut 
the strongest strips, and made thereof ladders, like to 
ship-ladders, of ropes, of such a length and so strong 
that they reached from the top of the hill even to the 
very bottom : upon those they all came safely down, sav- 
ing one that tarried above to throw down their armour 
after them, who afterwards by the same ladder saved 
himself last of all. The Romans mistrusting no such 
matter, these bondmen compassed the hill round, assail- 
ed them behind, and put them in such a fear, with the 
sudden onset, as they fled every man, and so was their 
camp taken. '^ This passage also is totally inconsistent 
with the present state of Vesuvius. Its lofty summit 
would be ill suited for an encampment, nor could the 
wild vine ever have flourished there ; but both Plutarch 
and Strabo will be clear, if we suppose that the even 
summit of Somma, then probably more perfect than it 
now is, was the highest part of the mountain, and that it 
was only accessible by a chasm, such as that which gives 
admission to Avernus. While the Romans were guarding 
this spot, they might reasonably feel confident that the 
enclosed enemy could find no other outlet. 

After many centuries of repose, the volcano broke out 
with great violence, and in its first eruption destroyed Her- 
culaneum and Pompeii. This calamity is described by 
an eye-witness, the younger Pliny, whose narration will 

* North's Plutarch, Crassua, 



28 POMPEII. 

form part of the next chapter. It is also mentioned more 
than a century later by Dion Cassius. The passage 
seems to indicate, as far as it is intelligible, that the pres- 
ent cone did not exist when he wrote ; and is further cu- 
rious, as proving that the old fables of the Battle of the 
Gods and Giants, and of the inhumation of the latter, 
were not forgotten even in the third century. 

' During the autumn, a great fire broke out in Cam- 
pania. Vesuvius is a mountain on the coast near Na- 
ples, which contains inexhaustible fountains of fire; and, 
formerly, it was all of the same height, and fire rose in 
the middle of it (for the only traces of fire were in the 
middle), but the outer parts remain unscathed to this day. 
Hence, these continuing uninjured, but the centre being 
dried up, and reduced to ashes, the encircling crags still 
retain their ancient height : but the burnt part being con- 
sumed in lapse of time has settled down and become hol- 
low, so that to compare small things to great, the whole 
mountain now resembles an amphitheatre. And the top 
is clothed with trees and vines, but the circular cavity is 
abandoned to fire; and by day it sends up smoke, and by 
night flame, so that one would think all sort of incense 
vessels were burning there. This continues always with 
more or less violence, and often, after any considerable 
subsidence, it casts up ashes and stones, impelled by vio- 
lent blasts of wind, with a loud noise and roaring, because 
its breathing holes are not set close together, but few and 
concealed.^ 

' Such is Vesuvius, and these things take place in it 
almost every year. But all eruptions which have hap- 
pened since, though they may have appeared unusually 
great to those even who have been accustomed to such 
sights, would be trifling, even if collected into one, when 

* This description is not very clear, but neither is the Greek. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 29 

compared to what occurred at the time of which we 
speak. Many huge men surpassing human stature, such 
as the giants are described to have been, appeared wan- 
dering in the air, and upon the earth, at one time fre- 
quenting the mountain, at another the fields and cities in 
its neighbourhood. Afterwards came great droughts and 
violent earthquakes, so that the whole plain boiled and 
bubbled, and the hills leapt, and there were noises under- 
ground like thunder, and above ground like roaring, and 
the sea made a noise, and the heavens sounded, and then 
suddenly a mighty crash was heard as if the mountains 
were coming together, and first great stones were thrown 
up to the very summits, then mighty fires and immense 
smoke, so that the whole air was overshadowed, and the 
sun entirely hidden, as in an eclipse. 

' Thus day was turned into night, and light into dark- 
ness, and some thought the giants were rising again 
(for many phantoms of them were seen in the smoke, 
and a blast, as if of trumpets, was heard), while others 
believed that the earth was to return to Chaos, or to be 
consumed by fire. Therefore men fled, some from the 
houses out into the ways, others that were without, into 
their houses ; some quitted the land for the sea, some 
the sea for the land, being confounded in mind, and 
thinking every place at a distance safer than where 
they were. Meanwhile, an inexpressible quantity of 
dust was blown out, and filled land, sea, and air ; 
which did much other mischief to men, fields, and cat- 
tle, and destroyed all the birds and fishes, and besides 
buried two entire cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, 
while the population was sitting in the theatre.^ For this 

* The wording leaves it doubtful which theatre is meant. The 
theatres of both cities have been explored, and no remains found. 
The eruption may have come on while the people were assem- 
bled, but they were not destroyed in the theatres. 
3* 



30 POMPEII. 

dust was so abundant that it reached Africa, Syria, and 
Egypt, and filled the air above Rome, and overclouded 
the sun ; which caused much fear for many days, men 
neither knowing nor being able to conjecture what bad 
happened. But they thought that every thing was to 
be thrown into confusion, the sun to fall extinguished to 
the earth, the earth to rise to the sky. At the time, 
however, these ashes did them no harm, but subsequent- 
ly they produced a pestilential disease.'^ 

It does not appear that any lava flowed from Vesu- 
vius ; the ejected matter consisted of rocks, pumice, 
and ashes, which seem, from the operations at Pompeii 
and Herculaneum, to have been partly changed into 
liquid mud by torrents of rain. Being re-awakened, the 
volcano continued in pretty constant activity. It is ev- 
ident, from the passage just quoted, that from this year 
until the commencement of the third century, when Dion 
wrote, eruptions of more or less violence were contin- 
ually recurring. Other eruptions are mentioned in the 
fifth and sixth centuries. Procopius, who died about the 
middle of the sixth, speaks of the mountain emitting riv- 
ers of fire.'f* He describes it in terms which corres- 
pond somewhat with a cone and crater ; and, hke Dion, 
conveys the idea of its being constantly at work. * Ve- 
suvius is very precipitous below, encircled with wood 
above, terribly wild and craggy. In the centre of its 
summit is a very deep chasm, which we may suppose to 
reach quite to the bottom of the mountain, and it is 
possible to see fire in it, if a man dare peep over. 
Usually, the fire feeds upon itself, (g^' exurnv c-rpiipircct,) 
without molesting those who live in its neighbourhood, 
but when the mountain utters a roaring noise, in general 
it emits soon after a vast body of cinders.' He adds, 

* Dion Cassius, lib. Ixvi. t Bell. Goth, iv, 35. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 31 

that these ashes were often carried a vast distance, even 
to the coast of Africa and Byzantium, in which city so 
much terror was once caused by the phenomenon, that 
a solemn suppHcation was established in consequence, 
and continued yearly .=^ 

The first stream of lava of which we have authentic ac- 
count, broke out in the year 1 036, during the seventh erup- 
tion from the resuscitation of the volcano. Another erup- 
tion occurred in 1049, another in 1138 or 9; after which 
there was a pause of 168 years, till 1306. From this 
year, to 1631, there was a cessation, except one slight 
eruption in 1500. During this long pause, a remarkable 
event occurred in another part of the Phlegrsean fields. 
In little more than twenty-four hours, a new hill, called 
Monte Nuovo, was thrown up to the height of 440 feet 
above the level of the sea, its base being nearly a mile 
and a half in circumference. It stands partly on the 
site of the Lucrine lake, which has now dwindled into a 
shallow pool.f 

Bracini descended into the crater of Vesuvius shortly 
before the eruption of 1631. He gives the following 
account of it : ' The crater was five miles in circum- 
ference, and about 6000 paces deep, its sides were cov- 
ered with brushwood, and at the bottom there was a 
plain, on which cattle grazed. In the woody parts boars 
frequently harboured. In the midst of the plain, within 
the crater, was a narrow passage, through which, by 
a winding path, you could descend about a mile among 
rocks and stones till you came to another more spacious 
plain, covered with ashes ; in this plain were three little 
pools, placed in a triangular form, one towards the east, 
of hot water, corrosive and bitter beyond measure ; 

* Procop. Bell. Goth, ii, 4. 
t Lyell, Principles of Geology, chap. xix. 



32 POMPEII. 

another towards the west, of water Salter than that of the 
sea ; the third of hot water that had no particular taste. '^ 

This account, in spite of its minute enumeration of 
pools of water, and points of the compass, is not very 
intelligible, and may fairly be presumed not to be very ac- 
curate. Judging from the size which he ascribes to the 
crater, far larger than any which we know to have ex- 
isted in the present cone, one would suppose that he 
meant its boundary to be the ridge of Somma, and that 
the valley between Somma and Vesuvius, now called 
Atrio de' Cavalli, the hall of horses, (because it is here 
that visitors to the summit of the mountain leave their 
horses to wait while they ascend the cone on foot,) is 
the plain where cattle grazed. Still this is inconsistent 
with the farther descent in the centre of that plain, un- 
less we suppose that where the cone now stands there 
was then a chasm ; and surely the present cone cannot 
have grown up within the last two centuries unobserved 
and undescribed. We have, therefore, but a choice of 
difficulties in explaining the passage ; and a farther one 
occurs in the great depth attributed to the crater, which, 
according to this statement, must have been accessible 
at a depth far below the level of the sea. Still, so far 
as we can form any opinion on it, the mountain, after 
this long pause, appears to have approximated consid- 
erably to the state in which it afforded a safe refuge to 
Spartacus, as described by Plutarch, and the passage 
thus furnishes a fresh presumption that the modern cone 
did not then exist. We may add Sir W. Hamilton's 
authority to the reasons already given, for supposing Som- 
ma to be the ancient Vesuvius. ' 1 have seen ancient 
lavas in the plain on the other side of Somma, which 
could never have come from the present Vesuvius. '| 

A brief period of repose followed the eruption of 1631, 

* Campi Phlegrsei, page 62. f Campi Phlegraei, p. 63. 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 33 

but it lasted only till 1666; from which time to the pres- 
ent, there has been a series of eruptions, at intervals^ 
rarely exceeding* ten years, generally recurring much 
more frequently. Those of 1776 and 1777 are more 
than commonly celebrated, from having been described 
at large by an eye-witness, Sir William Hamilton, in his 
splendid work, entitled ' Campi Phlegrsei.' The erup- 
tion of 1779 was also described by him, and is remark- 
able for the beauty and grandeur of its phenomena. Dur- 
ing the whole month of July, the volcano gave the usual 
warnings of an approaching paroxysm, by internal rumb- 
ling noises, and frequent jets of smoke and red-hot stones. 
On August the 5th it was in a state of violent agitation : 
white and sulphureous smoke issued continually from the 
crater, and lay piled up cloud upon cloud, resembling bales 
of the whitest cotton, until a mass of them was accumu- 
lated above the summit, four times the height and size of 
the mountain itself In the midst of this, stones and ash- 
es were continually shot up to a height of 2000 feet or 
upwards. At this time a quantity of lava was heaved up 
high enough to clear the mouth of the crater, and took 
its passage down the side opposite to Somma. 

On Friday and Saturday the 6th and 7th of August, 
the mountain was less violently disturbed, but at twelve 
o'clock on the night of the latter day, its fermentation in- 
creased greatly. ' I was watching its motions from the 
mole of Naples, which has a full view of the volcano, and 
had been witness to several picturesque effects produced 
by the reflection of the deep red fire which issued from 
the crater of Vesuvius, and mounted up in the midst of 
the huge clouds, when a summer storm, called here a 
Tropea, came on suddenly and blended its heavy watery 
clouds with the sulphureous and mineral ones, which were 
already like so many other mountains piled over the sum- 
mit of the volcano, At this moment a fountain of fire 



34 POMPEII. 

was shot up to an incredible height, casting so bright a 
light that the smallest objects could be clearly distin- 
guished at any place within six miles or more of Ve- 
suvius. The black stormy clouds passing over, and at 
times covering the whole or a part of the brisjht column 
of fire ; at other times, clearing away and giving a full 
view of it, with the various tints produced by its rever- 
berated light on the white clouds above, in contrast with 
the pale flashes of forked lightning that attended the 
Tropea, formed such a scene as no power of art can 
ever express.' One of the king of Sicily's game-keep- 
ers, who was out near Ottaiano in this storm, was sur- 
prised to find the drops of rain scald his hands and face, 
a phenomenon occasioned, probably, by the clouds having 
acquired a great degree of heat in passing by the above- 
mentioned column of fire. 

On Sunday, Vesuvius was quiet till towards six o'clock 
in the evening, when the smoke began to gather over 
its crater, and the usual jets of stones and ashes com- 
menced and continued to increase. ' At about nine 
o'clock, there was a loud report which shook the houses 
at Portici and its neighbourhood, to such a degree as to 
alarm the inhabitants and drive them out into the streets ; 
and, as I have since seen, many windows were broken, 
and walls cracked by the concussion of the air from that 
explosion, though faintly heard at Naples. In an instant, 
a fountain of liquid transparent fire began lo rise, and 
gradually increasing, arrived at so amazing a height as to 
strike every one who beheld it with the most awful aston- 
ishment. I shall scarcely be credited, when I assert that, 
to the best of my judgment, the height of this stupendous 
column of fire could not be less than three times that 
of Vesuvius itself, which rises 3700 feet perpendicular 
above the level of the sea. 

' PuflTs of smoke, as black as can possibly be imagined, 
succeeded one another hastily, and accompanied the red, 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 35 

transparent, and liquid lava, intercepting its splendid 
brightness here and there by patches of the darkest hue. 
Within these puffs of smoke, at the very moment of 
their emission from the crater, I could perceive a bright, 
but pale electrical fire, briskly playing about in zig-zag 
lines. The wind was S. W., and though gentle, suf- 
ficient to carry these detached clouds or puffs of smoke 
out of the column of fire, and a collection of them by 
degrees formed a black and extensive curtain, if 1 may 
be allowed the expression, behind it ; in other parts of the 
sky it was quite clear, and the stars were bright. The 
fiery fountain of so gigantic a size upon the dark ground 
above-mentioned, made the most glorious contrast imag- 
inable, and the blaze of it reflecting strongly upon the 
surface of the sea, which was at that time perfectly 
smooth, added greatly to this sublime view. The liquid 
lava, mixed with stones and scoriae, after having mount- 
ed, I verily believe, at the least 10,000 feet, was partly 
directed by the wind towards Ottaiano, and partly fall- 
ing almost perpendicularly, still red hot and liquid on 
Vesuvius, covered its whole cone, part of the mountain of 
Somma, and the valley between them. The falling mat- 
ter being nearly as vivid and inflamed as that which was 
continually issuing fresh from the crater, formed with it 
one complete body of fire, which could not be less than 
two miles and a half in breadth, and ot the extraordinary 
height above mentioned, casting a heat to the distance 
of at least six miles around it. The brushwood on the 
mountain of Somma was soon in a blaze, which flame 
being of a different tint from the deep red of the matter 
thrown out by the volcano, and from the silvery blue of 
the electrical fire, still added to the contrast of this most 
extraordinary scene.' 

Another remarkable eruption occurred in 1793, while 
the late Dr Clarke was at Na[)les, and gave him the op- 
portunity of making minute and repealed observations on 



36 POMPEII. 

the mountain. No pen is better calculated to explain 
these great operations of nature, and to describe their 
awful magnificence. We shall extract a passage of some 
length from his journal, illustrative chiefly of those phe- 
nomena which we have not yet noticed. 

* It was in the month of February that I went with 
a party to the source of the lava for the first time, to 
ascertain the real state in which the lava proceeded from 
the volcano that created it. I found the crater in a very 
active state, throwing out volUes of immense stones trans- 
parent with vitrification, and such showers of ashes invol- 
ved in thick sulphureous clouds as rendered any ap- 
proach to it extremely dangerous. We ascended as near 
as possible, and then crossing over to the lava, attempted 
to coast it up to its source. This we soon found was im- 
possible, for an unfortunate wind blew all the smoke of 
the lava hot upon us, attended at the same time with such 
a thick mist of minute ashes from the crater, and such 
fumes of sulphur that we were in danger of being suffo- 
cated. In this perplexity I had recourse to an expedient 
recommended by Sir W. Hamilton, and proposed im- 
mediately crossing the current of liquid lava to gain the 
windward side, but felt some fears, owing to the very 
liquid appearance the lava there had so near its source. 
All my companions were against the scheme ; and while 
we stood deliberating, immense fragments of stone, and 
huge volcanic bombs, that had been cast out by the cra- 
ter, but which the smoke had, prevented us from ob- 
serving, fell thick about us, and rolled by us with a ve- 
locity that would have crushed any of us, had we been 
in their way. I found we must either leave our present 
spot, or expect instant death ; therefore covering my 
face with my hat I rushed upon the lava, and crossed 
safely over to the other side, having my boots only a 
little burni, and my hands scorched. Having once more 
rallied my forces, I proceeded on^ and in about half an 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 37 

hour gained the chasm through which the lava had open- 
ed itself a passage out of the mountain. To describe 
this sight is utterly beyond all human ability. My com- 
panions shared in the astonishment it produced ; and the 
sensations they felt, in concert with me, were such as can 
be obliterated only with our lives. All I had seen of 
volcanic phenomena before did not lead me to expect 
such a spectacle as I then beheld. I had seen the vast 
rivers of lava that descended into the plains below, and 
carried ruin and devastation with them ; but they re- 
sembled a vast heap of cinders or the scoriae of an iron 
foundry, rolling slowly along, and falling with a rat- 
tling noise over one another. Here a vast arched chasm 
presented itself in the side of the mountain, from which 
rushed with the velocity of a flood the clear vivid torrent 
of lava, in perfect fusion, and totally unconnected with 
any other matter that was not in a state of complete solu- 
tion, unattended with any scoriae on its surface, or gross 
materials of an insolvent nature, but flowing with the 
translucency of honey, in regular channels cut finer than 
art can imitate, and glowing with all the splendour of 
the sun.** 

' The eruption from the crater increased with so much 
violence, that we proceeded to make our experiments and 
observations as speedily as possible. A little above the 
source of the lava I found a chimney of about four feet 
in height, from which proceeded smoke, and sometimes 
stones. I approached and gathered some pure sulphur, 
which had formed itself upon the edges of the mouth of 
this chimney, the smell of which was so powerful, that I 
was forced to hold my breath all the while I remained 
there. I seized an opportunity to gain a momentary 
view down this aperture, and perceived nothing but the 
glare of the red-hot lava that passed beneath it. We 
then returned to examine the lava at its source. Sir W. 
Hamilton had conceived that no stones thrown upon a 
4 



38 POMPEII. 

current of lava would make any impression. We were 
soon convinced of the contrary. Light bodies of five, 
ten, and fifteen pounds weight, made little or no impres- 
sion even at the source ; but bodies of sixty, seventy, and 
eighty pounds were seen to form a kind of bed on the 
surface of the lava, and float away with it. A stone of 
three hundred weight that had been thrown out by the 
crater, lay near the source of the current of lava. I 
raised it upon one end, and then let it fall in upon the 
liquid lava, when it gradually sunk beneath the surface 
and disappeared. If I wished to describe the manner in 
which it acted upon the lava, I should say it was like a 
loaf of bread thrown into a bowl of very thick honey 
which gradually involves itself in the heavy liquid which 
surrounds it, and then slowly sinks to the bottom. The 
lava itself had a glutinous appearance, and although it 
resisted the most violent impression, seemed as if it might 
easily be stirred with a common walking-stick. A small 
distance from its source, as it flows on, it acquires a dark- 
er tint upon its surface, is less easily acted upon, and as 
the stream gets wider, the surface having lost its state 
of perfect solution grows harder and harder, and cracks 
into innumerable fragments of very porous matter, to 
which they give the name of scoriae, and the appearance 
of which has led many to suppose that it proceeded thus 
from the mountain ; itself being composed of materials 
less soluble than the rest of the lava, lighter, and of course 
liable to float continually on the surface. There is how- 
ever no truth in this. All lava at its first exit from its 
native volcano flows out in a liquid state, and all equally 
in fusion. The appearance of the scoriae is to be attrib- 
uted only to the action of the external air, and not to any 
diflerence in the materials which compose it, since any 
lava whatever, separated from its channel and exposed to 
the action of the external air, immediately cracks, be- 
comes porous, and alters its form. As we proceeded 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. S9 

downward this became more and more evident, and the 
same lava which at its original source flowed in perfect 
solution, undivided, and free from encumbrances of any 
kind, a little farther down had its surface loaded with sco- 
riae in such a manner, that upon its arrival at the bottom 
of the mountain the whole current resembled nothing so 
much as a heap of unconnected cinders from an iron- 
foundry.' 

Aug. 22, 1793. — ^ There was to-day a most singular 
appearance in the mountain ; on opening the shutters to 
view it, I perceived the crater to be in great agitation, 
puff after puff impelling each other with the greatest vi- 
oleHce. I could perceive thousands of stones and scoriae 
thrown into the air, and falling in all directions. The 
clouds from the crater were as white as the purest snow; 
on a sudden, as I was looking at these, a column of smoke 
rushed impetuously out of another mouth behind the cra- 
ter, as black as the deepest ink; and rising in curling vol- 
umes to a vast magnitude, formed a pillar perfectly un- 
connected with the smoke from the crater, and presented 
a striking contrast by opposing its jet black to the snowy 
whiteness of the other. These appearances continued at 
intervals the whole day. Sometimes the two columns of 
different colours rose together, as if emulating each other, 
and striving which should rise the highest and display the 
greatest magnitude, but never mixing or interfering with 
each other.' . . . 

Aug. 30th. — ' The lava which was last night so great, 
this evening suddenly stopped ; hardly a trace of it was 
visible. But the crater displayed such girandoles of fire, 
such beautiful columns of light red flame, as I think I 
never saw before. Millions of red-hot stones were shot 
into the air, full half the height of the cone itself, and then 
bending fell all round in a fine arch. As soon as I got 
home I fixed the telescope. Sometimes in the middle of 
the clear flame, another and another still more bright and 



40 POMPEII. 

glorious displayed itself, breaking on the eye like the full 
sun ; so that the interior was always the most luminous. 
The interior and bright attendants upon the principal col- 
umn seemed to be lava in perfect fusion, which boiled 
and bubbled up above the crater's edge; and sometimes 
falling over it, I could perceive splash upon the cone, and 
take its course gently down the side of the mountain. 
Sometimes, and more usually, it fell again into the crater. 
I write this with the burning mountain now before my 
eyes. All the top of the cone is covered with red-hot 
stones and lava. The flame of the crater continues 
without intervals of darkness, as usual. It is always in 
flame, or rather the clouds of smoke, tinged with the boil- 
ing matter within, are like burnished gold, and as bright 
as fire. 

Sept. 5. — ' Vesuvius continues to throw most superb- 
ly ; the lava flows again : at sunset he showed that Tyr- 
ian hue which he assumes sometimes, and which has a 
glow beyond description. I had undressed myself and 
was prepared to get into bed when a violent shock from 
the mountain agitated the door of my room, so as to star- 
tle me not a little. 1 went into my sitting-room, and, 
upon opening the window toward the mountain, I per- 
ceived all the top of the cone covered with red-hot matter. 
At the same time such a roaring was heard as made me 
expect something more than common. In an instant a 
column of lucid fire shot up into the air, and after ascend- 
ing above half the height of the cone itself, fell in a glori- 
ous parabolic girandole, and covered near half the cone 
with fire. This was followed after an interval of about 
thirty seconds, by a shock which agitated the doors and 
windows, and indeed the whole house in a most violent 
manner ; immediately after this shock, the sound of the 
explosion reached us louder than the greatest cannon, 
or the most terrible thunder, attended with a noise like 
the trampUng of horses' feet, which, of course, was noth- 



HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 41 

ing more than the noise occasioned by the falling of so 
many enormous stones among the hard lava. The shock 
of this explosion was so violent, that it disturbed many 
things I had left on my table, such as brushes for paint- 
ing, &c. I dressed myself again, and remained in the 
balcony above an hour, during which time I had the 
pleasure of beholding Vesuvius in his terrific grandeur, 
and more awfully sublime than I had ever before seen 
him. The consul. Sir James Douglas, has just been ob- 
serving to me that he never saw the mountain so agitated 
since the great eruption of 1779.'^ 

Between the end of the 18th century and the year 
1822, the crater of Vesuvius had been gradually filled 
by the boiling up of lava, and the crumbling down of the 
upper part of the cone. In place, therefore, of a regular 
cavity, was a rough and rocky surface covered with blocks 
of lava and scoriae. But this state of things was totally 
changed by the eruption of October, 1822, when the 
whole accumulated mass within the crater, together with 
a large part of the cone itself, was blown out, so as to 
leave an irregular gulf about three miles in circumfer- 
ence, when measured along the winding edge of its mar- 
gin, but somewhat less than three quarters of a mile in 
its largest diameter. The depth has been variously esti- 
mated, from 2000 feet to less than half that quantity. 
More than eight hundred feet of the cone was carried 
away during the eruption, so that the mountain was re- 
duced in height from about 4200 to 3400 feet. 

Vesuvius now consists of a double mountain, upon an 
extended base, from thirty to forty miles in circumference. 
Upon this stands the long ridge of Somma, so often men- 
tioned, bending in the form of a crescent, with its convex 
side presented to the N. E., its points to the S. W. The 
western horn is separated by a deep valley from a lower 

* Life of E. D. Clarke. 
4# 



42 POMPEII. 

mountain, called Cantaroni, which, inclining to the south, 
meets the lower projection, or terrace, called La Peda- 
inentina. This is again separated by an excavated val- 
ley from the eastern horn of Sonima. Between Somma 
and Vesuvius is the deep valley, called Atrio de' Cavalli, 
the Hall of Horses, and in the centre of the amphithe- 
atre rises the cone of Vesuvius itself, dark, sterile, and 
desolate ; to the eye, a mass of loose scoriae and ashes, 
without order or coherence. This however on inspection 
is proved not to be the case. It consists of alternate lay- 
ers of sand or ashes, scoriae, and lava, inclining outwards 
at an angle of from 45^ to 30^ with the axis of the cone. 
The strata of course are partial and irregular in extent 
and thickness, as circumstances have determined the fall 
of the ejected matter, or the flow of the lava ; but the ir- 
regularities of these numerous beds compensate for each 
other, and the general effect, on viewing the interior of 
the crater, is one of considerable order and regularity. 
Even the loose substances, falling together half melted, 
and continually acted on by the hot vapours which steam 
upwards in all paits of the cone, soon acquire a consid- 
erable degree of coherence ; and the solidity of the whole 
is mainly assisted by dykes of solid lava, injected into the 
cracks of the mountain, when the molten liquid has boiled 
up to its summit. 




Plan of the Bay of Naples, showing the relative situations of Pompeii and 
Herculaneum. The inner line of coast is the ancient, the outer the modern 
line. 



CHAPTER 11. 



HISTORICAL NOTICE OF POMPEII. 



Pompeii is situated in that district of Italy, named by 
the ancients Campania, comprised between the moun- 
tains of Samnium and the Tyrrhenian sea, and bounded 
on the north by the river Liris, and on the south by the 
Silarus. The line of coast included between these 
points is broken by two far projecting capes, Misenum 
and the promontory of Minerva, between which lies a 



44 POMPEII. 

deep recess, called from its shape Crater, the Cup, or the 
Gulf of Cumae, and known in modern times as the Bay of 
Naples. At the bottom of this bay stood Pompeii, about 
thirteen miles south-east of Naples, and five from Vesu- 
vius. Of its history very little is known. It is related 
to have been founded by Hercules, as well as its neigh- 
bour and fellow victim, Herculaneum. Solinus says, that 
the name of Pompeii is derived from Pompe, in allu- 
sion to the pomp with which Hercules celebrated his 
victories, while awaiting his fleet at the mouth of the 
river Sarnus. Being furnished with so respectable and 
credible an origin, it would be waste of time to enquire 
any farther. ^ An almost impenetrable darkness hangs 
over these remote ages ; and when men are driven to 
take refuge in mythology, it is plain that they can find lit- 
tle satisfaction in history. Strabo, however, asserts that 
these towns were founded by Pelasgians and Tyrrhe- 
nians, t The first inhabitants that w^e can trace on this 
coast, are the Osci, who appear to have been the same 
as the Ausones, and of Pelasgian extraction. At an ear- 
ly, but still an unknown period, a colony from Chalcis 
in Euboea founded the town of Cumae. Parthenope, af^ 
terwards called Neapolis, now Naples, was an offset 
from thence, or from a kindred colony of Eretrians. 
Pompeii and Herculaneum also fell into their power ; but 
their establishments seem to have extended no farther 
in this direction. 

Campania, where, in Pliny's words, all imaginable 
delights were in constant rivalry, has always been cele- 
brated as tempting by its riches the arms of strangers, and 
punishing the cupidity of its conquerors by enervating, and 

* An Italian author, who has written an account of Pompeii, 
has filled a large folio volume with speculations on the origin of 
the city and its name. 

t ^-'iebuhr, p. 37, 



HISTORICAL NOTICE. 45 

subjecting them in their turn to some sterner enemy ; in 
consequence, it has experienced a rapid succession of mas- 
ters. The Cumaeans were driven out by the Etruscans, 
who are said to have taken possession of twelve towns con- 
quered or founded by their predecessors, and to have form- 
ed a sort of federal repubHc, of which Capua was the cap- 
ital, and Pompeii a member. 

About 440, B. c. the Samnites made themselves mas- 
ters of the coast as far as the Silarus. Capua, then called 
Vulturnum, made peace, on condition of receiving a col- 
ony and sharing her territory with the victors. A mixed 
people thus arose, the first to whom the name of Campa- 
nians was applied. About eighty years later, the Cam- 
panians, being pressed in war by the Samnites, threw 
themselves for protection into the arms of Rome, and of 
course were swallowed by that all-devouring Charybdis, 
which sucked up every thing within the circle of its influ- 
ence, and disgorged nothing. In the second Punic war, 
B. c. 216, Campania revolted, and joined Hannibal, who 
proposed to make Capua the capital of Italy. His long 
stay in this delightful cUmate proved fatal to the discipline 
even of his victorious troops ; and when he was compelled 
to abandon Italy, the incensed Romans took a terrible re- 
venge on their revolted subjects. Neither on this occa- 
sion, however, nor on their first occupation of the country, 
is mention made either of Herculaneum or Pompeii. 

In the Social, or Marsic war, which broke out b. c. 91, 
the Campanian towns raised the standard of revolt, and \ 
Pompeii among them. At the end of that war, Capua \ 
was severely punished : its inhabitants being dispossessed, 
and a colony sent from Rome to cultivate their fertile ter- 
ritory. Stabise, a town within four or five miles of Pom- 
peii, was entirely destroyed, and scattered villas built 
where it formerly stood ; and we know not by what means 
Pompeii escaped a similar fate. 



\ 



46 POMPEII. 

From this time forward it shared the common fortune of 
the empire, and nothing remarkable is related concerning 
it, except a quarrel between its inhabitants and those of 
Nuceria (now Nocera), which originated in certain pro- 
vincial sarcasms, uttered at a gladiatorial combat, exhib- 
ited in the amphitheatre of Pompeii. The dispute ter- 
minated in a battle, and the Nucerians were worsted. 
Not prospering in the vole du fait^ they went to law, and 
carried their complaint before the Emperor Nero, who fin- 
ally adjudged that the Pompeians should be suspended 
from all theatrical amusements for ten years : a sentence 
which, according to modern ideas, we can hardly believe 
to be serious, but which certainly was both meant and felt 
to be so, and which bears strong testimony to the impor- 
tance attached by the Romans to all public amusements. 

There remains to this day upon the external walls of a 
house in the street of Mercury, as it is called, near the 
city wall, a caricature or rude drawing scratched on the 
plaster with a sharp-pointed instrument by some patriotic 
Pompeian, in commemoration of this squabble, and the 
victory of his towns-people. We give a fac-simile of it. 
It seems to be a joint production ; for the armed figure 
descending the steps is evidently the work of a more skil" 
ful hand than that which drew the other two figures, if they 
deserve that term. The figure on the right seems to be 
meant for a gladiator, cased in armour, descending the 
steps of the amphitheatre, bearing in his left hand a 
shield, and in his right a palm-branch, the token of vic- 
tory. It is observable that his helmet has a complete 
visor, and apparently resembles the helmet of the mid- 
dle ages, much more than the usual form of the Ro- 
man helmet. The abortive figures on the left probably 
represent one of the victors, on some elevated spot, drag- 
ging a prisoner, with his arms bound, after him up the 
ladder which leads to it. It might not have been very 
easy to decipher all this 5 but like the sign-painter who 



HISTORICAL NOTICE. 



47 




48 



POMPEII. 



found it necessary to write under his production, * This 
is a bear !' the artist or artists have thought it prudent to 
subjoin the following inscription, which, in point of Latin, 
is much on a par with the drawing. 

Campani victoria una cum Nucerinis peristis. 
which may be interpreted, ^Campanians, you perished in 
victory together with the Nuceiians.' 

This occurred a. d. 59. Four years after, an earth- 
quake nearly destroyed Pompeii, and the inhabitants had 
scarcely recovered their alarm, and had not restored the 
buildings damaged by the shock, when it was overwhelmed 
by that greater calamity, which, consigning it to a tempo- 
rary oblivion, has communicated to a trivial town of the 
Roman empire a power to interest, unequalled except by 
that of the mighty capital itself 




Ejla^ftElfe^^^ 



Implements used in building. 




Implements used in husbandry. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE POSITION AND TERRITORY OF POMPEII, AND ITS 
DESTRUCTION AND RE-DISCOVERY. 



Pompeii was originally situated close to the sea, al- 
though, owing to the gradual elevation of the land, it is 
now at some distance inland. Shells and sea-sand have 
been found by digging on the side adjoining the coast ; 
and it is even said that rings have been found close to 
the ruins, intended, as is supposed, for the mooring of 
vessels. The authority of Strabo has been quoted to 
confirm this, but his words go at least equally to prove 
that the trade of the place was carried on by the river 
Sarnus, which ran past the city. If so, this stream has 
shrunk among the other physical changes which have oc- 
curred in the country ; for it now is nothing more than 
a rivulet, entirely unsuited to any purposes of trade, which 
runs at some distance from its ancient course, and falls 
into the sea between Pompeii and Stabiae. From the 
position of the town, and the discoveries made by the ex- 
cavators, it is clear that only three principal roads could 
have led to it. The first, which was on the w^estern side, 



50 POMPEII. 

led to Naples along the coast through Oplontis, Retina, 
and Herculaneum ; the second joined the Popilian way 
at Nola ; and the third crossed the Sarnus, and after- 
wards divided into two branches, of which the principal 
led to jVocera, and the other to Stabiae. 

The city stood on an insulated spot formed by lava 
which seems to have burst from the ground in that place, 
as in others around the foot of Vesuvius ; for this coun- 
try has been affected by subterranean fires from the remot- 
est antiquity. Thus situated, it appeared to possess all 
local advantages that the most refined taste could desire. 
Upon the verge of the sea, at the entrance of a fertile 
plain, on the bank of a navigable river, it united the con- 
veniences of a commercial town with the security of a mili- 
tary station, and the romantic beauty of a spot celebrated 
in all ages for its pre-eminent loveliness. Its environs, 
even to the heights of Vesuvius, were covered with vil- 
las, and the coast all the way to Naples was so orna- 
mented with gardens and villages, that the shores of the 
whole gulf appeared as one city ; v.'hile the prodigious 
concourse of strangers who came here in search of health 
and recreation, added new charms and life to the scene. 
But these advantages were dearly purchased. An ene- 
my at that time unknown, was silently working its destruc- 
tion : an enemy which from time to time still desolates 
the modern towns which stand upon the buried and long 
forgotten cities of antiquity. 

Seneca has recorded an earthquake already mention- 
ed, antecedent by sixteen years to the great eruption of 
Vesuvius, which took place on the 16th February, a. d. 
63, threw down a great part of Pompeii, and considerably 
injured Herculaneum. ^ A herd,' he says, ' of six hun- 
dred sheep were swallowed up, statues were split, and 
many persons lost their reason.' The following year 
another earthquake took place whilst Nero was singing 
at Naples ; the building, unfortunately, fell immediately 



^ ITS DESTRUCTION. 51 

after the emperor had left it. Vestiges of the injury done 
by these shocks may even now be seen in the houses 
which have been excavated at Pompeii, where the mosaic 
floors are often much out of their level, twisted and brok- 
en ; and show the repairs which had been made by the 
inhabitants themselves. 

These alarms, the usual presages of a near eruption, 
were from time to time repeated until the 23d of August, 
A. D. 79, the day on which, after a cessation of ages, the 
first recorded volcanic paroxysm of Vesuvius occurred. 

By an unusual good fortune we are in possession of a 
faithful narrative, furnished by an eye-witness of the 
catastrophe which overwhelmed Pompeii, and provided a 
subject for this volume. It is contained in two letters of 
Pliny the younger to Tacitus, which record the death of 
his uncle, who fell a victim to his inquiring spirit and 
humanity. 

' Your request that I would send you an account of 
my uncle's death, in order to transmit a more exact re- 
lation of it to posterity, deserves my acknowledgments ; 
for, if this accident shall be celebrated by your pen, the 
glory of it, I am well assured, will be rendered for ever 
illustrious. And notwithstanding he perished by a mis- 
fortune, which as it involved at the same time a most 
beautiful country in ruins, and destroyed so many popu- 
lous cities, seems to promise, him an everlasting remem- 
brance; notwithstanding he has himself composed many 
and lasting works ; yet I am persuaded the mentioning of 
him in your immortal works will greatly contribute to 
eterni2!e his name. Happy I esteem those to be, whom 
Providence 'b^s distinguished with the abilities either of 
doing such actjonsr as are worthy of being related, or of 
relating them in a manner worthy of being read ; but 
doubly happy are they who are blessed with both these 
uncommon talents ; in the number of which my uncle, 
as his own writings and your history will evidently prove, 



52 POMPEII. 

may justly be ranked. It is with extreme willingness, 
therefore, I execute your commands ; and should indeed 
have claimed the task, if you had not enjoined it. He 
was at that time with the fleet under his command at 
Misenum. On the 24th of August, about one in the 
afternoon, my mother desired him to observe a cloud 
which appeared of a very unusual size and shape. He 
had just returned from taking the benefit of the sun,* and 
after bathing himself in cold water, and taking a slight 
repastj was retired to his study. He immediately arose 
and went out upon an eminence, from whence he might 
more distinctly view this very uncommon appearance. It 
was not at that distance discernible from what mountain 
this cloud issued, but it was found afterwards to ascend 
from Mount Vesuvius. | I cannot give a more exact de- 
scription of its figure, than by resembling it to that of a 
pine-tree, for it shot up a great height in the form of a 
trunk, which extended itself at the top into a sort of 
branches ; occasioned, I imagine, either by a sudden gust 
of air that impelled it, the force of which decreased as 
it advanced upwards, or the cloud itself being pressed 
back again by its own weight, expanded in this manner: 
it appeared sometimes bright and sometimes dark and 

* The Romans used to lie or walk naked in the sun, after anoint- 
ing their bodies with oil, which was esteemed as greatly contribut- 
ing to health, and therefore daily practised by them. 

t About six miles distant from Naples. Martial has a pretty 
epigram, in which he gives us a view of Vesuvius, as it appeared 
before this terrible conflagration broke out : 

' Here verdant vines o'erspread Vesuvius' sides ; 
The generous grape here pour'd her purple tides. 
This Bacchus lov'd beyond his native scene ; 
Here dancing satyrs joy'd to trip the green. 
Far more than Sparta this in Venus' grace ; 
And great Alcides once renown'd the place : 
Now flaming embers spread dire waste around. 
And Gods regret that Gods can thus confound.* 



ITS DESTRUCTION. 53 

spotted, as it was more or less impregnated with earth 
and cinders. This extraordinary phenomenon excited my 
uncle's philosophical curiosity to take a nearer view of it. 
He ordered a light vessel to be got ready, and gave me 
the Hberty, if I thought proper, to attend him. t rather 
chose to continue my studies; for, as it happened, he had 
given me an employment of that kind. As he was com- 
ing out of the house, he received a note from Rectina, the 
wife of Bassus, who was in the utmost alarm at the immi- 
nent danger which threatened her ; for her villa being 
situated at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, there was no way 
to escape but by sea : she earnestly entreated him, there- 
fore, to come to her assistance. He accordingly chang- 
ed his first design, and what he began with a philosophical, 
he pursued with an heroical turn of mind. He ordered 
the galUes to put to sea, and went himself on board with 
an intention of assisting not only Rectina, but several 
others ; for the villas stand extremely thick upon that 
beautiful coast. When hastening to the place from 
whence others fled with the utmost terror, he steered his 
direct course to the point of danger, and with so much 
calmness and presence of mind, as to be able to make 
and dictate his observations upon the motion and figure of 
that dreadful scene. He was now so nigh the mountain, 
that the cinders, which grew thicker and hotter the nearer 
he approached, fell into the ships, together with pumice- 
stones, and black pieces of burning rock: they were like- 
wise in danger, not only of being aground by the sudden 
retreat of the sea, but also from the vast fragments which 
rolled down from the mountain, and obstructed all the 
shore. Here he stopped to consider whether he should 
return back again; to which the pilot advising him, " For- 
tune," said he, '' befriends the brave; carry me to Pom- 
ponianus." Pomponianus was then at Stabise,* separat- 

♦ Now called Castel a Mar di Stabia, in the gulf of Naples. 

5* 



54 POMPEII. 

ed by a gulf, which the sea, after several insensible wind- 
ings, forms upon the shore. He had already sent his 
baggage on board; for though he was not at that time 
in actual danger, yet being within the view of it, and, 
indeed, extremely near, if it should in the least increase, 
he was determined to put to sea as soon as the wind 
should change. It was favourable, however, for carry- 
ing my uncle to Pomponianus, whom he found in the 
greatest consternation: he embraced him with tenderness, 
encouraging and exhorting him to keep up his spirits, and 
the more to dissipate his fears, he ordered, with an air of 
unconcern, the baths to be got ready; when, after having 
bathed, he sat down to supper with great cheerfulness, 
or at least (what is equally heroic) with all the appear- 
ance of it. In the meanwhile, the eruption from Mount 
Vesuvius flamed out in several places with much vio- 
lence, which the darkness of the night contributed to 
render still more visible and dreadful. But my uncle, in 
order to soothe the apprehensions of his friend, assured 
him it was only the burning of the villages, which the 
country people had abandoned to the flames: after this 
he retired to rest, and it is most certain he was so little 
discomposed as to fall into a deep sleep; for being pretty 
fat, and breathing hard, those who attended without actu- 
ally heard him snore. The court which led to his apart- 
ment being now almost filled with stones and ashes, if 
he had continued there any time longer, it would have 
been impossible for him to have made his way out; it was 
thought proper, therefore, to awaken him. He got up, 
and went to Pomponianus and the rest of his company, 
who were not unconcerned enough to think of going to 
bed. They consulted together whether it would be most 
prudent to trust to the houses, which now shook from 
side to side with frequent and violent concussions; or fly 
to the open fields, where the calcined stones and cinders, 
though light indeed, yet fell in large showers, and threat- 



ITS DESTRUCTION. 55 

ened destruction. In this distress they resolved for the 
fields, as the less dangerous situation of the two; a reso- 
lution which J while the rest of the company were hurried 
into by their fears, my uncle embraced upon cool and de- 
liberate consideration. They went out then, having pil- 
lows tied upon their heads with napkins; and this was 
their whole defence against the storm of stones that fell 
around them. It was now day every where else, but 
there a deeper darkness prevailed than in the most ob- 
scure night; which, however, was in some degree dissi- 
pated by torches and other lights of various kinds. They 
thought proper to go down farther upon the shore, to ob- 
serve if they might safely put out to sea; but they found 
the waves still run extremely high and boisterous. There 
my uncle, having drunk a draught or two of cold water, 
threw himself down upon a cloth which was spread for 
him, when immediately the flames, and a strong smell of 
sulphur, which was the forerunner of them, dispersed the 
rest of the company, and obliged him to rise. He raised 
himself up with the assistance of two of his servants, and 
instantly fell down dead; suffocated, as I conjecture, by 
some gross and noxious vapour, having always had weak 
lungs, and being frequently subject to a difficulty of 
breathing. As soon as it was light again, which was not 
till the third day after this melancholy accident, his body 
was found entire, and without any marks of violence upon 
it, exactly in the same posture that he fell, and looking 
more like a man asleep than dead. During all this time 
my mother and I, who were at Misenum"^ — But as this 
has no connexion with your history, so your inquiry went 
no farther than concerning my uncle's death; with that, 
therefore, I will put an end to my letter: suffer me only 
' to add, that I have faithfully related to you what I was 
either an eye-witness of myself, or received immediately 

* See this account continued, in the following Letter. 



56 POMPEII. 

after the accident happened, and before there was time 
to vary the truth. You will choose out of this narrative 
such circumstances as shall be most suitable to your pur- 
pose; for there is a great difference between what is 
proper for a letter and a history; between writing to a 
friend, and writing to the public. Farewell !'* 

^ The letter which, in compliance with your request, I 
wrote to you concerning the death of my uncle, has rais- 
ed, it seems, your curiosity to know what terrors and 
dangers attended me while I continued at Misenum; for 
there, I think, the account in my former broke off. 

** Though my shocked soul recoils, my tongue shall tell." t 

^ My uncle having left us, I pursued the studies which 
prevented my going with him, till it was time to bathe. 
Afler which I went to supper, and from thence to bed, 
where my sleep was greatly broken and disturbed. There 
had been, for many days before, some shocks of an earth- 
quake, which the less surprised us as they are extreme- 
ly frequent in Campania; but they were so particularly 
violent that night, that they not only shook everything 
about us, but seemed indeed to threaten total destruction. 
My mother flew to my chamber, where she found me 
rising, in order to awaken her. We went out into a 
small court belonging to the house, which separated the 
sea from the buildings. As I was at that time but eigh- 
teen years of age, I know not whether I should call my 
behaviour, in this dangerous juncture, courage or rash- 
ness; but I took up Livy, and amused myself with turn- 
ing over that author, and even making extracts from him, 
as if all about me had been in full security. While we 
were in this posture, a friend of my uncle's, who was just 
come from Spain to pay him a visit, joined us; and ob- 
serving me sitting by my mother with a book in my hand, 

* Pliny's Letters, Melmoth's Translation, vi, 16. 
t Virgil, book ii. 



ITS DESTRUCTION. 57 

greatly condemned her calmness, at the same time that 
he reproved me for my careless security. Nevertheless, 
I still went on with my author. Though it was now morn- 
ing, the light was exceedingly faint and languid; the 
buildings all around us tottered, and though we stood 
upon open ground, yet, as the place was narrow and 
confined, there was no remaining there without certain and 
great danger : we therefore resolved to quit the town. 
The people followed us in the utmost consternation, and, 
as to a mind distracted with terror every suggestion seems 
more prudent than its own, pressed in great crowds about 
us in our way out. Being got at a convenient distance 
from the houses, we stood still, in the midst of a most 
dangerous and dreadful scene. The chariots which we 
had ordered to be drawn out, were so agitated backwards 
and forwards, though upon the most level ground, that we 
could not keep them steady, even by supporting them with 
large stones. The sea seemed to roll back upon itself, 
and to be driven from its banks by the convulsive motion 
of the earth; it is certain at least the shore was consider- 
ably enlarged, and several sea animals were left upon it. 
On the other side a black and dreadful cloud, bursting 
with an igneous serpentine vapour, darted out a long train 
of fire, resembling flashes of lightning, but much larger. 
Upon this our Spanish friend, whom I mentioned above, 
addressing himself to my mother and me with great warmth 
and earnestness: ^' If your brother and your uncle," said 
he, " is safe, he certainly wishes you may be so too; but 
if he perished, it was his desire, no doubt, that you might 
both survive him: why, therefore, do you delay your 
escape a moment? " — We could never think of our own 
safety, we said, while we were uncertain of his. Hereupon 
our friend left us, and withdrew from the danger with the 
utmost precipitation. Soon afterwards the cloud seemed 
to descend, and cover the whole ocean; as indeed it en- 



58 POMPEII. 

tirely hid the island of Caprea6=* and the promontory of 
Misenum. My mother strongly conjured me to make my 
escape at any rate, which, as I was young, I might easily 
do : as for herself, she said, her age and corpulency ren- 
dered all attempts of that sort impossible. However she 
would willingly meet death, if she could have the satisfac- 
tion of seeing that she was not the occasion of mine. But 
I absolutely refused to leave her, and taking her by the 
hand, I led her on : she complied with great reluctance, 
and not without many reproaches to herself for retarding 
my flight. The ashes now began to fall upon us, though 
in no great quantity. I turned my head, and observed 
behind us a thick smoke, which came rolling after us like 
a torrent. 1 proposed, while we had yet any light, to turn 
out of the high road, lest she should be pressed to death in 
the dark by the crowd that followed us. We had scarce 
stepped out of the path, when darkness overspread us, not 
like that of a cloudy night, or when there is no moon, but 
of a room when it is shut up, and all the lights extinct. 
Nothing then was to be heard but the shrieks of women, 
the screams of children, and the cries of men; some 
calling for their children, others for their parents, others 
for their husbands, and only distinguishing each other by 
their voices; one lamenting his own fate, another that of 
his family; some wishing to die from the very fear of dy- 
ing; some Hfting their hands to the gods; but the greater 
part imagining that the last and eternal night was come, 
which was to destroy the gods and the world together, f 
Among these were some who augmented the real terrors 
by imaginary ones, and made the frighted multitude falsely 
believe that Misenum was actually in flames. At length 

* An island twenty miles from Naples, now called Capri. 

t The Stoic and Epicurean Philosophers held, that the world was 
to be destroyed by fire, and all things fall again into original chaos; 
not excepting even the national gods themselves from the destruc- 
tion of this general conflagration, 



ITS DESTRUCTION. 59 

a glimmering light appeared, which we imagined to be 
rather the forerunner of an approaching burst of flames, 
as in truth it was, than the return of day. However, the 
fire fell at a distance from us: then again we were im- 
mersed in thick darkness, and a heavy shower of ashes 
rained upon us, which we were obliged every now and then 
to shake off*, otherwise we should have been crushed and 
buried in the heap. I might boast that, during all this 
scene of horror, not a sigh or expression of fear escaped 
from me, had not my support been founded in that miser- 
able, though strong, consolation — that all mankind were 
involved in the same calamity, and that I imagined I was 
perishing with the world itself! At last this dreadful 
darkness was dissipated by degrees, like a cloud of smoke; 
the real day returned, and even the sun appeared, though 
very faintly, and as when an eclipse is coming on. Every 
object that presented itself to our eyes (which were ex- 
tremely weakened) seemed changed, being covered over 
with white ashes, as with a deep snow. We returned to 
Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as well as we 
could, and passed an anxious night between hope and 
fear; though indeed with a much larger share of the 
latter; for the earthquake still continued, while several 
enthusiastic people ran up and down, heightening their 
own and their friends' calamities by terrible predictions. 
However, my mother and I, notwithstanding the danger 
we had passed, and that which still threatened us, had 
no thoughts of leaving the place till we should receive 
some account from my uncle. 

^ And now you will read this narrative without any view 
of inserting it in your history, of which it is by no means 
worthy ; and indeed you must impute it to your own re- 
quest if it shall deserve the trouble of a letter ; fare- 
well.'^ 

* Pliny's Letters, vi, 20 ; Melmoth's translation 



60 POMPEII. 

Pompeii was not destroyed by an inundation of lavaj 
its elevated position sheltered it from that fate: it was 
buried under that shower of stones and cinders of which 
Phny speaks. Much of this matter appears to have been 
deposited in a hquid state; which is easily explained, for 
the vast volumes of steam sent up by the volcano de- 
scended in torrents of rain, which united with the ashes 
suspended in the air, or v/ashed them, after they had fall- 
en, into places where they could not well have penetrated 
in a dry state. Among other proofs of this, the skeleton 
of a w^oman was found in a cellar, enclosed within a mould 
of volcanic paste, which received and has retained a per- 
fect impression of her form. In the great eruption of 1779, 
minutely described by Sir Wilham Hamilton, Ottaiano, 
a small town situated at the foot of Somma, most narrowly 
escaped similar destruction. The phenomena then ob- 
served may be presumed to correspond closely with those 
which occurred at Pompeii. 

' On the night of the 8th of August, when the noise 
increased, and the fire began to appear above the moun- 
tain of Somma, many of the inhabitants of this town flew 
to the churches, and others were preparing to quit the 
town, when a sudden violent report was heard, soon after 
which they found themselves involved in a thick cloud of 
smoke and minute ashes; a horrid clashing was heard in 
the air, and presently fell a deluge of stones and large 
scorise, some of which scoriae were of the diameter of 
seven or eight feet, and must have weighed more than 
one hundred pounds before they were broken by their 
fall, as some of the fragments of them, which I picked 
up in the streets, still weighed upwards of sixty pounds. 
When these large vitrified masses either struck against 
one another in the air, or fell on the ground, they broke 
into many pieces, and covered a large space around them 
with vivid sparks of fire, which communicated their heat 
to everything that was combustible. In an instant the 



ITS RE-DISCOVERY. 61 

town and country about it was on fire in many parts; for 
in the vineyards there were several straw huts, which had 
been erected for the watchmen of the grapes, all of which 
were burnt. A great magazine of w^ood in the heart of 
the town was all in a blaze; and had there been much 
wind, the flames must have spread universally, and all 
the inhabitants would infallibly have been burnt in their 
houses, for it was impossible for them to stir out. Some 
who attempted it with pillows, tables, chairs, the tops of 
wine-casks, &c, on their heads, were either knocked down, 
or soon driven back to their close quarters, under arches 
and in the cellars of their houses. Many were wounded, 
but only two persons have died of the wounds they receiv- 
ed from this dreadful volcanic shower: to add to the hor- 
ror of the scene, incessant volcanic lightning was whisk- 
ing about the black cloud that surrounded them, and the 
sulphureous heat and smell would scarcely allow them to 
draw their breath. In this miserable and alarming situa- 
tion they remained about twenty-five minutes, when the 
volcanic storm ceased all at once.'^ It is evident that if 
the eruption had continued for a brief space longer, 
Ottaiano must have perished like Pompeii. 

This last named city, however, was not buried to its 
present depth by a single eruption. Successive layers 
are clearly to be traced, (Simond counted eight of them,) 
and the lowest has evidently been moved, while the others 
are untouched ; a plain proof that some interval elapsed 
between their deposition, and that the inhabitants return- 
ed to seek after their most costly property. That so few 
articles of intrinsic value have been found, is attributed, 
with much probability, to this cause. | 

* Campi Phlegrsei, supplement, p. 19. 

t Some buildings now completely excavated bear marks of hav- 
ing been previously searched by the ancients. In such places, all 
valuable elFects and materials have been carried away, as, for in- 

6 



62 POMPEII. 

For 1676 years Pompeii remained buried under ashes. 
The first indications of ruins were observed in 1689^ but 
the excavations did not commence till 1755. It is, how- 
ever, singular that it was not discovered sooner, for Do- 
minico Fontana,^ having been employed in the year 1592 
to bring the waters of the Sarno to the town of Torre 
delPAnnunziata, cut a subterraneous canal across the site 
of Pompeii, and often met in his course with the base- 
ments of buildings. The excavations, to which the atten- 
tion of .Europe is constantly directed, have produced, and 
continue to produce the most interesting results. Unfor- 
tunately some of the most important monuments are rapid- 
ly perishing; and being already half destroy ed by the burn- 
ing cinders, shaken by earthquakes, and built originally of 
the worst materials, oppose but a feeble resistance to the 
destructive agency of damp and frost. 

stance, the columns of the portico of Eumachia, a building adjoin- 
ing the Forum, to be described hereafter, and the furniture of the 
Basilica. 

* An eminent architect of the sixteenth century. He executed 
many splendid works by the commands of Pope Sixtus V. : among 
which are the library of the Vatican, and an aqueduct, fifteen miles 
long, supported upon arches. But that which gained him the high- 
est reputation was the erecting that vast obelisk which stands in 
front of St Peter's; a feat which many of Sixtus's predecessors had 
meditated, but none had ventured to attempt. After the death 
of this pontiff he removed to Naples. 



ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS. 



63 




Supposed appearance of Vesuvius and the face of the country 
after the eruption. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OF THE WALLS AND GATES OF POMPEII. 

The most ancient specimens of fortification with which 
we are acquainted are the Cyclopean walls of Tiryns, 
Mycense, and other places in Greece and Italy. Closely 
akin to these, but of a more artificial structure, are the 
walls of Cortona, Fiesole, Volterra, and other cities built 
by the Tyrrhenians, or Etruscans, from whom this se- 
cond style, though naturally and evidently derived from 
the former, and of frequent occurrence in Greece as well 
as Italy, has obtained the name of the Etruscan style. 
To this a large part of the walls of Pompeii appears to be- 
long : it will not therefore be irrelevant to prefix to this 
chapter some account of the peculiarities of this species 
of architecture. 

. The Cyclopes are most generally known as mythologi- 
cal personages serving as journeymen to Vulcan, and 
chiefly employed in forging Jupiter's thunderbolts. They 
seem to have enjoyed the same sort of reputation that Ju- 
lius Csesar and the Devil enjoyed in the middle ages, and 
much later among the uneducated peasantry of Europe ; 
that is, most works of remote antiquity and unusual mag- 
nitude were ascribed to them. Who they really were, and 
by what race the buildings ascribed to them were erected, 
are questions which cannot be treated but at considerable 
length, and in a way not likely to interest the general read- 
er. We shall therefore proceed at once to describe these 
remains : which are impressive from the solidity of their 
construction and the massive grandeur of their parts, and 
venerable from the extreme antiquity which they boast. 



WALLS AND GATES. 65 

Not less than three thousand years have elapsed since the 
fortifications of Tiryns and Mycenae were built ; yet they 
still remain, apparently as perfect as when visited by Pau- 
sanias sixteen centuries ago, and seem to defy the wasting 
hand of time, when unassisted by the destructive agency 
of man. 

The reader, if at all acquainted with the north of Eng- 
land, is sure to be familiar with the dry stone walls which 
serve for fences throughout that district. These walls are 
used, not merely because stone is the cheapest material, 
but as the readiest way of disposing of the loose stones 
which cumber the surface of the earth, especially in the 
mountainous parts, where we continually see large rocks 
projecting from the earth, built into, and forming part of 
the wall, which is composed of fragments of all shapes and 
sizes laid together without mortar in as close order as the 
skill of the workman and the tractability of the material has 
permitted. These are Cyclopean walls in miniature. This 
term applies properly to a peculiar species of building com- 
posed of huge polygonal masses of rock piled up on each 
other, without any artificial adaptation of their sides, but 
the interstices at the angles filled up with small stones. 
The most celebrated Cyclopean remains in Greece are 
those at Tiryns and Mycenae. They consist in both pla- 
ces of a wall, or fortification, inclosing the summit of a 
nearly insulated rock, the Acropolis, in the language of 
later Greece ; the enclosure of which was at once a pal- 
ace, a fortress, and a temple. The remains of Tiryns 
seem to be the older of the two. They are related to have 
been built by the Cyclopes for Prsetus, whose reign is 
placed, in Blair's System of Chronology, about 1379 b. c. 
This date is probably much too remote, but they certainly 
existed anterior to the age of Homer, who adopts the epi- 
thet ' walled,' =^ as characteristic of the city ; and from the 

♦ Wally rather, if the word were legitimate. TipvvQa ti rtiytota-adu 
II. b. 559. 

6* 



66 f»OMPEIf. 

pristine rudeness and solidity of their construction, we can- 
not doubt the identity of the existing ruins with the fortifi- 
cations which attracted the poet's admiration in their per- 
fect state. The enclosure is two hundred and twenty 
yards in length, and sixty in its extreme breadth. ^ It 
approximates to a parelielogram, deeply indented on one 
side, and occupies nearly the whole summit of a low emi- 
nence, which rises precipitously, but not more than forty 
or fifty feet above the plain. It had three gates, the prin- 
cipal one flanked by a solid tower, and accessible only by 
a flight of steps, which at first running parallel to the wall, 
turned at right angles before it reached the gate ; thus en- 
circling two sides of the tower, and giving every facility ot 
defending this most important point. In several of our 
earliest specimens of castellated architecture, the entrance 
is protected in a similar way, the door being elevated sev- 
eral feet above the ground, and accessible only by a steep 
and narrow stair. The walls consist chiefly of the un- 
wrought masonry described above ; yet the art of shaping 
stones seems not to have been entirely unknown, for cer- 
tain curious galleries which perforate a considerable part 
of them, are roofed with a sort of pyramidal arch, formed 
by cutting away the superincumbent blocks at an angle 
of about 45^ with the horizon. Pausanias gives the fol- 
lowing brief account. ' The walls, the only part which 
remains, are said to have been built by the Cyclopes. 
They are composed of unhewn stones, f so large that a 
pair of mules could not move the smallest from its place. 
Other stones have been fitted in between them, so that 
the large ones might adhere the better.' This statement 
respecting the size of each stone is of course to be under- 
stood only of those masses of rock which form, as it were, 

♦ Gell, Argolis, or Itinerary of Greece, p. 56. This work con- 
tains a detailed account of Tiryns and MycenaB, with numerous 
plates, to which we have been much indebted. 
'\ KiBav et^ym, ii, 25. 



WALLS AND GATES. 67 

the skeleton of the building. The largest observable of 
these is nine feet six inches long, four feet broad, and 
three feet ten inches deep : the usual dimensions are about 
seven feet by three. The greatest present height of the 
wall is forty-three feet ; formerly it appears to have been 
about sixty feet high, judging from the quantity of displac- 
ed blocks. A portion of the masonry is represented in 
page 69, taken from Sir W. Gell's Argolis. 



Cyclopean gallery at Tiryns. 



68 POMPEII. 

Still more striking are the remains of Mycenae, distin- 
guished by Homer for the excellence of its building, ^ as 
well as Tiryns. They now consist of an irregular enclo- 
sure, in its extreme length and breadth about 330 by 200 
yards. In the eastern side a remarkable gateway still ex- 
ists, called the Gate of Lions, from two lions rudely sculp- 
tured over the lintel. It is flanked by walls, which form 
a court about fifty feet deep in front of it, and these, to- 
gether with the front of the gate, are built with blocks, 
which evidently have been rudely squared. The back of 
the gate is said to exhibit the rough masonry J which we 
have called Cyclopean ; and hence a question may arise, 
whether the gate itself, with the front walls, were a later 
structure, or whether the regular and the polygonal con- 
struction were not employed at the same period, the for- 
mer for the rough service of war, the latter for edifices of 
sanctity or splendour. The greater part of the walls con- 
sists of polygonal blocks, well fitted to each other, as in 
the following cut, given by Mr Hughes from a temple in 
Epirus ; J but specimens occur as rude as those at Ti- 
ryns, and, as we have already said, there is also an ap- 
proximation to regular masonry of hewn stone. Thus, in 




Walls of a temple in Epirus. 

* MyjcMvatf, (UKri/uivcv tttoxuB^oy, U. b. 669. 

t Dodwell, Travels in Greece, vol. i, p. 241. 

i Hughes, Travels in Greece, &c, vol. i, p. 214. 



WALLS AND GATES. 69 

this one example we find the two stages of the Cyclopean, 
and that which is usually called the Etruscan style. The 
durability of these remains may be estimated from Pausa- 
nias, who visited them sixteen centuries ago, yet his brief 
notice might serve a modern traveller : ' A gateway over 
which stand lions, and other parts of the wall are still left.'* 
They have defied, not only time, but the still more destruc- 
tive hand of man ; for when the Argians demolished Ti- 
ryns and Mycense, b. c. 468, ' they could not break down 
the walls of Mycenae, by reason of their strength, for they 
were built by the Cyclopes, after the manner of those of 
Tiryns.' | The walls of Norba, in Latium, are said to be 
on a still more gigantic scale. 




Cyclopean Walls at Tiryns. 

Of the rudest style of Cyclopean architecture, very few 
specimens now exist ; the most celebrated one is the cita- 
del of Tiryns. The second style, which is prevalent at 
Mycenae, is a natural and obvious improvement of the 
former. The improvement consists in fitting the sides of 
polygonal blocks to each other, so that exteriorly the walls 
may present a smooth and solid surface. Specimens of 

* ii, 16. t Hughes, Travels iu Greece, vii, 25, 



70 



POMPEII. 



this occur in most of the fortified cities of ancient Greece; 
we may instance, in addition to the unequalled remains of 
Mycenfe, the walls of Mantineia and Chseroneia, and the 
Pnyx at Athens.^ In the third style the courses are hori- 
zontal, with more or less irregularity, but the joints not ver- 
tical. Cement was not employed in any of these buildings: 
the massiveness of the parts rendered it unnecessary, even 
if its use was known to the builders. An approximation 
to this third style is visible, as we have said, at Mycenae ; 
but it is seen in perfection in the cities of Etruria, many of 
which even now retain their ancient walls. We may 
name Volterra, Fiesole, Cortona, Populonia, Roselle, 
and others. In all these, according to Micali, t the hori- 




Walls of Volterra. 



* Hughes, Travels in Greece, vol. i. 
t Micali, L'ltalie avant la Domination des Romains, Atlas, Do- 
seription de Planche X. . % 



WALLS AND GATES. 



71 



zontal style prevails ; the only exception, in Etruria, is at 
Cqsa, which offers a fine example of the second style. It 
is remarkable that this place, which is characterised by a 
ruder architecture, appears to be of decidedly later date 
than those above-mentioned. A short account of Roselle, 
where vast ruins still exist, may serve as a specimen of all 
the others. It is situated, like all the ancient cities of this 




Walls of Fiesole. 

region, upon a hill, northward of the river Ombrone ; the 
walls are one mile and two-thirds in circumference, built of 
enormous masses of travertine, or coarse limestone, having 
the exterior surface worked to an even plane. Many of 
them are fourteen or fifteen feet long, and so thick, that 
two, placed back to back, form the thickness of the wall. 
Almost the entire walls of Cosa exist near Orbitello to this 
day. The engravings which we have given will point out 
the comparative skill with which the surfaces and angles 



72 



POMPEII. 



of blocks were joined, and retained in their places without 
cement. It has been conjectured that this mode of buil- 
ding was derived from the Egyptians, but it does not re- 
semble the character of their architecture, nor that of any 




Walls of Cosa. 



of the Eastern nations, except the Phoenicians, who built 
their walls of large stones, but united by cement. This 
tends to support the theory that the Cyclopes were Phoe- 
nician artificers, who introduced this method of building 
into Greece, together with other useful arts, as the forg- 
ing of metals. Euripides speaks of the walls of Mycenae 
as built in the Phoenician method.^ 

While on this subject, we may mention, as among the 
most remarkable of ancient walls, those of Luna, a mari- 
time establishment of the Etruscans. They were built 
with solid blocks of pure white marble, taken probably 

♦ Here. Furens, 944. 



WALLS AND GATES. 



73 



from the neighbouring quarries of Carrara. Rulihus 
Numatianus, a writer at the close of the fourth century, 
praises the white walls of Luna ; and one Cyriac of An- 




Walls of Populonia. 

cona, in a letter written in the year 1442, speaks of their 
remarkable appearance. They are now almost entirely 
destroyed, to allow their site to be employed for tillage. * 
It has been suggested, with much appearance of proba- 
bility, that all these structures are essentially Pelasgic ; 
that when the Etruscans penetrated into central Italy, and 
occupied the district named from them Etruria, they formed 
a nation of miHtary nobility, like the Normans in England, 
or the Hellenes in Greece, enslaved the ancient Pelas- 
gian inhabitants, and compelled them to execute the mas- 
sive works which now bear the Etruscan name. This 
conjecture is strengthened by the numerous remains of 
the polygonal style which exist in Latium, at Prseneste, 
Norba, Segni, and other places. These certainly are not 

* Micali, vol. i, chap. x. 

7 



74 



POMPEII. 




Walls and gate of Segni. 



Etruscan ; probably they belong to the ancient Pelasgian 
inhabitants, — at least it is a remarkable circumstance that 
we find these walls nowhere, except where Pelasgians 
have been. Cosa, in Etruria, has been already mention- 
ed, where the city, as an Etruscan city, is of comparative- 
ly late date, yet the walls are of the older construction. 
Micali argues from hence that the polygonal walls cannot 
be considered necessarily anterior to the Etruscan style ; 
but it appears easier to suppose that Cosa was an ancient 
Pelasgian city, colonized and re-occupied by the Etrus* 
cans, than that its builders retrograded from a more ad- 
vanced to a less advanced style of building. The walls 
of Todi are laid in horizontal courses, and similar to the 
isodomon or regular masonry of the Greeks. Whatever 
be the origin of these Etruscan walls, those of Pompeii 
are evidently of kindred structure. They consist, where 
the original structure still remains, of courses of stone laid 
rudely horizontal, but the joints inclined to the perpendic- 
ular, so that the surface of each stone is usually a rhom- 
boid or trapezium. Some of the stones are dovetailed 
into each other, — a distinguishing mark of what is called 
the Etruscan style. On many of the stones, however, 



WALLS AND GATES, 



75 




Walls of Todi. 



certain characters are found, intended, apparently, as di- 
rections to the workmen, which are said by M. Mazois to 
be either Oscan, or the most ancient forms of the Grecian 
alphabet. If this be so, the walls must be referred to a 
period antecedent to the Etruscan occupation of this part 
of Italy ; and we shall have another reason for believing 
this method of building to be, if not Pelasgic, at all events 
not necessarily Etruscan. 

The course of the walls has been traced and ascertained 
by excavation. They surrounded the city, except upon 
the western or seaward side, where no remains of them 
are to be found. For the greater part of their circuit they 
are curvilinear, avoiding all sharp angles as much as pos- 
sible, in accordance with the principle of fortification laid 
down by Vitruvius, that it is desirable to avoid sharp an- 
gles, as offering more protection to the besiegers than to 
the besieged. =^ Some of the gates, like the Gate of 

* PJrectl^ the reverse is recommended by Vegetius, who further 



76 POMPEII. 

Lions at Mycenae, are set considerably back, to give the 
greatest possible security to these vulnerable and import- 
ant points. Wiihin this external wall, with towers at in- 
tervals, the usual defence of the most ancient Italian cities, 
there was thrown up an agger, or earthen mound, which 
Vitruvius considered, when properly combined with ma- 
sonry, proof against the battering-ram, or mining, or any 
known method of assault. His directions for constructing 
it are as follows. A ditch is to be dug as large and deep 
as possible, the sides perpendicular and walled. The 
earth is heaped up on the inside, and supported both within 
and without by walls strong enough to bear its thrust, 
bonded together, for farther security, by internal cross 
walls, between which the excavated material must be firmly 
rammed down, that it may still offer substantial resistance, 
even when the external masonry has been ruined. A 
considerable breadth is to be allowed for this raised plat- 
form, so that cohorts may have room to fight along its 
whole extent, as if ranged for battle. ^ This construction 
does not extend to the south side of the city, which was 
less exposed to the attack of military engines, and there- 
fore required less strength. On the north and north-east, 
the ramparts of Pompeii consisted of an earthen terrace 




Restored section of the walls and agger of Pompeii. 

advises that towers should be placed at the salient angles, for the 
advantage of taking the enemy in flank. 

* Vitruv. i, 5. 



WALLS AND GATES. 77 

(B) fourteen feet wide, walled and counter-walled, which 
was ascended from the city by flights of steps (C), broad 
enough for several men abreast. The external face, (A) 
including the parapet, was about twenty-five feet high ; 
the inner wall was raised some feet higher. There is no 
appearance of a ditch, which may be accounted for by 
the agger having been thrown up within the ancient wall. 
Both walls are built of lava, except the four or five upper 
layers of the external one, which is of travertine, * the 
coarse limestone of the country. All the stones are per- 
fectly well joined, and without mortar. The external 
wall is inchned slightly towards the city ; the low^er 
courses, instead of being inclined, are set slightly back, 
one behind another. The style of masonry we have al- 
ready described. 

Both walls were capped with battlements, so that from 
the country there was an appearance of a double line of 
defence, but the interior one was useless except to give 
a more formidable aspect to the fortifications. These 
battlements were ingeniously contrived to defend the sol- 
diers, who could throw their missiles through the embras- 
ure in comparative safety, being protected by a return or 
shoulder of the battlement projecting inward. The towers 
appear to be of less ancient date. They are constructed 
with small rough pieces of tufa, and are stuccoed and de- 

* Travertine is celebrated as the material of which St Peter's, 
and some of the grandest works of modern architecture, are built. 
It is a sort of tufa, a name given to all recent calcareous deposits 
from water, and to the rocks formed by the consolidation of loose 
volcanic matter, as mud and ashes. Vast quantities of travertine 
are deposited by the Anio, and all around Tivoli ; and the lime- 
stone districts of England furnish a similar rock. The hot springs 
of volcanic countries usually deposit tufa w^ith great rapidity. Tra- 
vertine is remarkably durable ; there is now at the end of the Corso 
of Rome, a monument, called that of Bibulus, the surface of which 
is as fresh and perfect as the day it was put up. 
7# 



78 



POMPEII. 



corated on the sides, but plain in front. They are quad- 
rangular, contrary to the rule laid down by Vitruvius, 




who says that towers ought to be circular or polygonal. 
' Square towers are sooner breached, because the batter- 
mg-ram breaks their angles ; round ones it cannot hurt^ 
but merely drives the stones, which should be cut wedge- 
like, towards their common centre. ' ^ He also recom- 
mends that they should be placed at no greater intervals 
than the cast of a javelin, so as to give each other mutual 

» Vitruv. i. 5. 



WALLS AND GATES. 



79 



support, and flank the enemy in case of assault. This 
principle has been adhered to near the western gate, 
where they are only eighty paces distant from each other, 
but towards the east the distance is two, three, and even 
four hundred and eighty paces. We may suppose, there- 
fore, that the ground in this quarter presented some diffi- 
culty to the approach of machines. All of them have 
archways, allowing a free passage along the agger, and 
are furnished with a sallyport ; all are alike, and each 
consists of several stories. The walls and towers are 




View of the wall and towers from without. 



much ruined. It is impossible to attribute this entirely to 
the earthquakes which preceded and accompanied the 
eruption of 79. The outer wall of the towers seems in- 
variably to have fallen. Sir W. Gell conjectures that this 
was done by Sylla at the end of the Social War, as the 
readiest means of rendering the fortifications useless. 
Probably the place had been dismantled at different pe- 
riods, as various breaches and repairs seem to indicate. 
For some time before its first catastrophe^ defences seem 
to have been thought unnecessary, for if they ever exist- 
ed, as most likely they did, on the seaward side, they had 
been thrown down, and handsome houses, often four or 
five stories high, erected on their site. The long peace 
which Italy enjoyed under Augustus and his immediate 
successors, rendered fortifications useless, and it is proba- 



80 



POMPEII. 



ble that during that period it became convenient to enlarge 
the city even at the cost of its security. 

The construction of the upper part of the walls, and 
the battlements of the ramparts, evince an improved knowl- 
edge in the science of building, and point out a period 
much more modern than that of the lower part ; being 
composed of the isodomon, or regular masonry of the 
Greeks, above the more ancient Etruscan basis. Some 
portions however of the upper wall consist of masonry of 



^^ 



ZX^I 



J 



^ 



Masonry of Pompeii. 



Isodomon, or regular masonry of the 
Greeks. 



that kind called by the ancients opus incertum, composed 
of small rough pieces, placed irregularly, and imbedded 
in a large quantity of mortar, resembling the flint and rub- 
ble masonry of our castles and churches. The difference 




Greek wall, similar in construction to the walls of Pompeii. * 

* Dod well's Travels in Greece. 



WALLS AND GATES. 81 

of construction observable in the wall and towers shows 
that the latter are of much later date. This is what we 
should expect. The most ancient Greek fortifications, 
4iose of Tiryns and MycenjB, are without towers ; ^ in 
those more recent, as at Orchomenus and Daulis, towers 
occur, but at considerable distances, and of small eleva- 
4on. It was not until a much later period that they were 
built at regular intervals, and of commanding height, as 
at Platffi, Messene, and other cities.| 

t Except at Tiryns, where the gale is flanked by a solid tower ; 
it is hardly more, however, than a projection in the wall. See the 
Ground Plan, in Gell's Argolis. We give a representation of some 
remains of Greek walls and towers at Messene, from Stuart's Athens, 
vol. vi. 




There are six gates in the length of wall which now 
exists. The first and most important stood near the sea, 
at the north-western angle of the city, and led to Hercu- 
laneum by a branch of the Appian way. For about a 
furlong from the entrance the road is bordered with tombs, 
as is the Appian way where it issues from Rome. The 
gate is double, so that when the first doors had been car- 
ried, the assailers could be attacked from a large opening 
above, and destroyed while attempting to force the second. 
Strong buttresses of stone sustain the lateral pressure of 
the earthen rampart, which is ascended from the interior 
by ten very high and inconvenient steps. This gate in its 

"^ Maziois. • 



82 



POMPEII. 




Gate leading to Herculaneum restored. 



arrangement resembles Temple Bar : there is a large cen- 
tral and two small side entrances, which, instead of being 
open to the sky, like the central road, were vaulted through 
their whole length. The inner gate consisted of folding 
doors, as the holes in the pavement, in which the pivots 
turned which served for hinges, evidently show ; the outer 
defence was formed by a portcullis. The archway is con- 
structed in brick and lava, in alternate layers, and covered 
with a fine white stucco. It is evidently a w^ork of the Ro- 
mans. This, although the principal entrance to the city, is 
not striking for its beauty, and is small in its dimensions. 
The stucco is covered with nearly illegible inscriptions of 
ordinances, &c. The centre archway is in width fourteen 
feet seven inches, and might, perhaps, have been eighteen 
or twenty feet in height ; but its arch does not remain. 
The smaller openings on each side for foot passengers were 
four feet six inches wide, and ten feet high : in size, there- 
fore, it scarcely equals Temple Bar. The road rises con- 
siderably into the city. On the left, before entering the 
gate, is a pedestal, which appears to have been placed for 
the purpose of sustaining a colossal statue of bronze, somo 



WALLS AND GATES. 83 

fragments of bronze drapery having been found there. We 
nnay suppose it to have been the tutelary deity of the city.* 
Without the gate there is a small niche for a soldier, whose 
skeleton, still grasping a lance, was found here, together 
with the usual accoutrements and arms. The other gates 
are alike, both in plan and construction ; the first leads to 
Vesuvius, the second has only the upper part excavated, 
the third led to Nola, the fourth was the gate of Sarnus, 
and the fifth communicated with Stabiae and Nocera : they 
Bre for the most part of stone, in a very ruined state, but 
apparently, from their similarity of construction, coeval 
with the walls. The gate of Nola is ornamented on the 
interior with a head in the key-stone, by the side of which 
is placed an Oscan inscription. '\ 

Having described the fortifications of the place, it will 
not be irrelevant to give a short notice of the methods of 
attack which they were meant to resist. Before the inven- 
tion of artillery, men who fought behind stone walls pos- 
sessed a vast advantage over those who fought in the open 
field ; and after witnessing the pains and expense bestow- 
ed on these bulwarks, and the magnitude of the result, it 
might seem hopeless to reduce them except by the slow 
but certain operation of famine. This, indeed, was not on- 
ly the last but the frequent resort of a general. Lines 
were drawn round the invested place, with a prodigality 
of labour, to which modern soldiers are little accustomed. 
A double rampart, frequently miles in length, between the 
inner and outer walls of which the assailing army was en- 
camped, and thus protected both against assaults from with- 
out, and from the desperate sallies of the cooped-up gar- 
rison, deep fosses, both within and without, strong palisades, 
chevaux de frieze (cippi), pit-falls set with stakes, arrang- 
ed in rows {lilia), and planks buried in the earth, thick 

* Sir W. Cell, p. 93. 

t Engraved by Sir William Cell, p. 138. 



84 POMPEII. 

set with tenter-hooks and iron spikes (stimuli) ; all these 
were not thought too much to secure the capture of a sin- 
gle city, impregnable, from the strength of its situation, 
by open force. =^ At other times, a vast mound was 
erected against the very walls, and the bravery and in- 
genuity of both parties were taxed to the utmost to retard 
or forward its elevation to the level of the battlements, f 

The first attempt, when the fortifications were such as 
to offer any chance of success, usually was to carry the 
place by assault. To this end the Romans surrounded 
the place with troops, distracted the attention of the gar- 
rison by a variety of feints, or endeavoured to alarm them 
by the mingled clamour of men's voices and military mu- 
sic, and to drive them from the walls by a storm of arrows 
and javelins. 1 hen the storming column rushed up, their 
shields held over their heads, and overlapping each other, 
so as to resemble (testudo) a tortoise, ready to burst the 
gates, or to undermine, if possible, or scale the walls. If 
this trial failed, it was necessary to resort to the method 
of circumvallation already described, or to a scarce less 
operose and expensive process. 

Art had not been idle in devising means to render un- 
availing these massive bulwarks, ahhough no missile wea- 
pons powerful enough to effect this had yet been invented. 
The ancients, indeed, had many engines under various 
names; scorpions, catapultse, balista3, which cast, much 
farther than the human arm could throw them, weighty 
javelins, and even large beams of wood headed with iron. 
These may be briefly described as gigantic cross-bows, 
the most powerful of which consisted not of a single 
beam or spring, but of two distinct beams, inserted each 

* All these methods were employed by Caesar at Alesia. Bell, 
Gall, vii, 72, 73. 

t See the Siege of Avaricum, Bell. Gall, vii, 22, seq. ; and that 
of Plataea, Thucyd. ii, 75 — 77. 



WALLS AND GATES. 



85 



into an upright coil of ropes, tightly twisted in such a way, 
that the ends of the arms could not be drawn towards 
each other, without increasing the tension of the ropes, so 
as to produce a most violent recoil. Still mightier were 
the onagri, and more upon the principle of the sling ; 
they threw huge stones with force enough to break and 




Balista. 



ruin the besiegers' towers. But the use of these wea- 
pons was chiefly confined to the besieged. As walls, 
therefore, could not be breached from a distance, as in 
modern war, it was necessary to employ manual force, 
and various machines were invented to diminish the 
assailants' danger, and render their attack more effectual. 
We may class thesis under three heads ; those meant 
merely to protect the approach of soldiers, those intended 
to ruin the walls, and those intended to supersede the 
process of destruction, by overtopping them. Of the first 
class are the machines called Vinea, Pluteus, and Mus- 
culus. The first were covered galleries formed of hur- 
dles, or wicker-work, stretched on a w^ooden frame, be- 
neath which the soldier could approach with comparative 
security, to undermine the walls, or do whatever else was 
required. Each vinea was eight feet high, seven broad, 
and sixteen long. Pluteus was a moveable gallery on 
wheels, for the protection of archers, who were stationed 
in it to clear the walls with their shot, and thus facilitate 

8 



86 



POMPEII. 




the approach of storming-parties, and the erection of 
scaling-ladders. Musculus was a small machine of the 
same description, sent in advance of the large towers, 
which are next to be described, to level the way for 
them, fill up the ditch if necessary, clear away rubbish, 
remove palisades, and make a solid road to the very foot 
of the walls. The Romans believed that a close alliance 
subsisted between the whale (balcena) and a smaller spe- 



WALLS AND GATES. 87 

cies of the same tribe, called musculus, and that when 
the former became blind, from the enormous weight of 
its eye-lids dropping over and closing up the organ, the 
latter swam before, and guided it from all shallows which 
might prove injurious . ^ Hence this machine was called 
musculus, as exploring and smoothing the way for the 
larger engines. All these were covered with raw hides, 
or some similar material, to obviate the danger of their 
being set on fire. To destroy the walls they used ter- 
rebrae, or borers, and falces, crooked irons to draw out 
stones, when once an opening was made. But the 
ram was by far the most important and efficacious instru- 
ment, and the only one which it is worth while to describe. 



Battering-ram and tower.f 

It is said to have been first employed, in its most simple 
form, by the Carthaginians^ to demolish the walls of 
Cadiz, after they had taken the place. Wanting proper 
iron tools for this purpose, a number of men took up a 
beam, and by their united force shook down the masonry. 
Pephasmenus, a Tyrian artificer, is said to have perceiv-^ 

* Pliny, Hist. Nat. lib. ix. 
t From the plates to Newton's Vitruviua. 



8 POMPEII. 

ed the economy of power obtained by suspending the 
beam from a mast, or triangle. Cetras, of Calchedon, 
conceived the idea of mounting it on wheels and a plat- 
form, and protecting those who worked it by a roof and 
sides. He called it [testudo) the tortoise, from the slow- 
ness of its motion, or because the ram thrust in and out 
its head like a tortoise from its shell. To cap the beam 
with iron was an obvious improvement ; and the way in 
which a ram huts with its head readily suggested the form 
usually given to the instrument, as well as its name. 
Vitruvius gives the dimensions of a tortoise employed 
by Philip of Macedon at the siege of Byzantium. The 
body was forty-five feet long, and thirty-four high. 
Above this, a turret was built four stories high, and not 
less than eighteen feet wdde; the upper part armed with 
scorpions and catapults, the lower filled with water lest 
the enemy should succeed in setting the wood-work on 
fire. Another was eighty feet long and eighteen wide, 
the ram one hundred and four feet long, a foot square at 
the head, and something bigger at the lower end. It 
was worked by one hundred men. ^ 

Still more formidable were vast moving towers, often, 
but not necessarily, combined with the ram. A city was 
in imminent danger when one of these was brought within 
reach of the walls. On the ground floor the ram exerted 
its destructive energy. In the middle was a bridge, the 
sides guarded by wicker work, constructed so as to be 
suddenly lowered or thrust out upon the very battlements. 
In the upper stories soldiers with all sorts of missile wea- 
pons w^ere placed, to clear the wall and facilitate the 
passage of their comrades. They were mounted on nu- 
merous wheels, moved from within ; probably their axles 
were pierced for levers like a capstan, and fixed in the 

* Vitruv. Xj 19. 



WALLS AND GATES. 



89 



wheels, so t&at when the former were forced round, the 
latter turned with them. The size of these towers was 
enormous ; those mentioned by Vitruvius are calculated 
for the attack of fortifications of a very different scale from 
those of Pompeii. He directs the smallest of them not 
to be less than ninety feet high, and twenty-five broad, 
the top to be a fifth smaller, and to contain ten stories 
each, with windows. The largest was one hundred and 
dighty feet high, and thirty-four broad, and contained 




Towers 



90 POMPEII. 

twenty stories. ^ These engines were emphatically nam- 
ed Helepoleis, or city-takers, by the Greeks. 

The methods of defence are less easily described, be- 
cause they might be varied infinitely according to local 
circumstances, to the plans of attack, and the ingenuity 
of the defenders. The siege of Syracuse is especially 
celebrated for the mathematical and mechanical knowl- 
edge employed by Archimedes in the defence of his 
city. The following are some of the means of annoyance. 
The soldiers were attacked with darts and arrows : the 
smaller machines, the vineae and plutei, ruined by stones 
let fall from the battlements or discharged from balistae. 
The attack of the ram was baffled by suspending wool- 
packs, or the like, as 

' Featherbed twixt castle wall, 
And heavy brunt of cannon ball,' 

or nooses were cast over them, and then drawn up by 
main force, until the ram broke or the tortoise was upset. 
But more especially they placed their hopes in burning 
the larger engines, and with this view prepared bundles 
of hemp and pitch fastened to arrows {malleoli,) and 
weighty spears tipped with a composition of bitumen, sul- 
phur, and other combustibles, which, when discharged 
from the balistae, struck deep into the wood work. They 
excavated hollows in the path of the approaching towers, 
leaving a crust of earth apparently solid, yet sure to yield 
to the weight, and overturn or half-bury the monster in 
the cavity. Mines were counter-mined : mounds raised 
against the wall were undermined, so that the upper part 
continually sunk in, and whatever quantity of fresh mate- 

* These numbers are so enormous, so much beyond our notion 
of the height of any wall, that we would suspect error in the read- 
ing, but for their coherence. One cannot allow much less thaa 
nine feet for a story. 



WALLS AND GATES. 



91 



rial was brought, the work advanced not. And if, in 
spite of these precautions, a mine was carried within the 
city, or the gates, or any other point seemed Hkely to be 
forced, boihng water, oil, pitch, and even less savoury 
ingredients, ^ were profusely prepared for the salutation 
of the assailants. Many curious instances of the skill 
of the engineer are collected by Vitruvius, which are 
worth the reader's attention, but would lead us into too 
long a digression from our main object. 




Spear heads found at Pompeii. 
* Lib. X, c. 22. 




Entrance to Pompeii through the gate of Nola, 



CHAPTER V. 



PUBLIC ROADS — STREETS OF POMPEII. 



In going from Naples to Pompeii, the visitor follows 
the road to Nocera, through Portici, Resina, and Torre 
del Greco, until he comes to Torre delP Annunziata, dis- 
tant about eleven miles from Naples, and one mile and 
a half from the object of his curiosity. From hence he 
may proceed either by the new road to Salerno which runs 
close past the southern wall of the city, or go across the 
country to the northern suburb, called the Street of Tombs. 
The latter route is in all respects preferable, and the more 
so, because it was the ancient route from Rome and Her- 
culaneum, and the chief entrance of Pompeii. From 
Torre dell' Annunziata he walks across irrigated cotton 
fields, partially shaded from the burning sun of Italy by 
patches of the tall Indian corn, or sheltered by umbrag- 
eous willows on the banks of a water-course, which con- 
ducts the stream of the Sarnus to fertilize these fields, 
and supply the wants of Torre dell' Annunziata. Fol- 




[fiii^^sj^]? ^n^AVA'^m^^m.mM. 



PUBLIC ROADS AND STREETS. 93 

lowing this watercourse, he arrives at the Street of Tombs^ 
now completely excavated, which rises by an easy ascent 
up to the city gate. The first striking object, at the very 
commencement of the excavations, is a house supposed 
to have belonged to one Arrius Diomedes ; it is of con- 
siderable extent, and is singular and interesting as the 
only perfect specimen of a suburban villa. From hence 
to the gate, called the Gate of Herculaneum, the road 
is flanked by tombs of much beauty and interest, and 
other buildings, among which we may specify an inn or 
hostelry of considerable extent, and another villa, called 
the suburban villa of Cicero. This has been in part filled 
up again. Opposite is a large exhedra, or covered 
seat, of a semicircular form : and a little further on there 
are others, on the opposite side of the road, and behind 
them the tomb of Mamia, who erected them for the pub- 
lic convenience. Adjoining these, and close to the city 
gate, is a niche for a sentinel. On entering, the visitor 
finds himself in a street, running a little east of south, 
which leads to the Forum. To the right, stands a house 
formerly owned by a musician ; to the left, a Thermo- 
polium or shop for hot drinks : beyond is the house of 
the Vestals ; beyond this the custom-house, and a little 
further on, where another street runs into this one from 
the north at a very acute angle, stands a public fountain. 
In the last-named street is a surgeon's house ; at least 
one so named from the quantity of surgical instruments 
found in it, all made of bronze. On the right or west- 
ern side of the street by which we entered the houses 
are built on the declivity of a rock, sloping down to 
where the sea formerly came, and are several stories 
high. 

The fountain is about one hundred and fifty yards from 
the city gate. About the same distance, further on, the 
street divides into two, the right-hand turning seems a 
by-street, and is but partially cleared, the left-hand turn- 




A i^iLAUvj f)r TKlg SOVY S)7 POMlPiKii, 3JJlgV701f]© TMl Mi£)@7 IfiJSieElfaT ISJvgAVA^'J'a'aii'Q® Ji^l- 



94 POMPEJI. 

ing conducts you to the Forum. The most important 
feature in this space is a house called the house of 
Sallust, or of Actaeon, from a painting in it representing 
that hunter's death. It stands on an area about forty 
yards square, and is encompassed on three sides by 
streets, by that namely which we have been describing, 
by another nearly parallel to it, and by a third, perpen- 
dicular to these two. East of this island of houses is 
an unexcavated space, beyond which is another broad 
street, running parallel to the first, the limit of the exca- 
vations in this quarter. Between these two are indications 
of another street, which is cleared out, south of the 
transverse street. Still farther south these streets all 
terminate in another transverse street. Thus the whole 
quarter already described is divided by four longitudinal 
and two transverse streets, into what the Romans called 
islands, or insulated masses of houses. One of these 
is entirely occupied by the house of Pansa, which with 
its court and garden is about one hundred yards long by 
forty wide. The average interval between the western 
and eastern street is not more than one hundred and 
fifty yards. The island immediately east of the house 
of Pansa has three houses of considerable interest, call- 
ed the house of the tragic poet, from dramatic paint- 
ings on the walls ; the cloth-dyer's house, from paint-^ 
ings illustrating the processes and utensils of that trade ; 
and the house of the mosaic fountains. 

From the transverse street which bounds these islands 
on the south, two streets lead to the two corners of the 
Forum ; between them are the baths, occupying nearly 
the whole island. Among other buildings are a milk 
shop and gladiatorial school. At the north-east corner 
of the Forum was a triumphal arch At the end of the 
broad eastern street, and higher up in the same street, 
another triumphal arch is still to be made out, so that 
this was plainly the way of state into the city. The Fo- 



PUBLIC ROADS AND STREETS. 95 

rum is distant from the gate of Herculaneum about four 
hundred yards. Of it we shall give a full description in 
its place. Near the south-eastern corner two streets 
enter it, one running to the south, the other to the east. 
We will follow the former for about eighty yards, when 
it turns eastward for two hundred yards, and conducts 
us to the quarter of the theatres. The other street, which 
runs eastward from the Forum, is of more importance, 
and is called the Street of the Silversmiths. About two 
hundred yards in length have been excavated, at the end 
of which a short street turns southwards, and meets the 
other route to the theatres. On both these routes the 
houses immediately bordering on the streets are cleared ; 
but between them is a large rectangular plot of unex- 
plored ground. Two very elegant houses at the south- 
west corner of the Forum were uncovered by the French 
general Championnet, while in command at Naples, and 
are known by his name. On the western side of the 
Forum two streets led down towards the sea : the ex- 
cavations here consist almost entirely of public buildings, 
which will be described hereafter. 

The quarter of the theatres comprises a large temple, 
called the Temple of Hercules, a temple of Isis, a temple 
of -^Esculapius, two theatres, and two spacious porticoes, 
enclosing open areas. On the north and east it is 
bounded by streets ; to the south and west, it seems to 
have been enclosed partly by the town, partly by its own 
walls. Here the continuous excavation ends, and we 
must cross vineyards to the amphitheatre, distant from 
the theatre about five hundred and fifty yards, in the 
south-east corner of the city, close to the walls, and in an 
angle formed by them: on the other sides are traces of 
walls supposed to have belonged to cattle-markets. Near 
at hand, a considerable building, called by the Italians 
the palace of Giulia Felice, has been excavated and fil- 
led up again. A considerable distance to the westward is 



96 POMPEII. 

the first excavation made near the centre of the city : it 
is surrounded by vines, which hang in festoons from the 
poplars on which they are trained ; it is small, and ap- 
pears to have been abandoned on account of the few 
coins and vessels discovered. From the amphitheatre, 
we will return along the Street of Silversmiths, towards 
the Forum; but before we arrive at the latter, turn up 
a street running parallel to it. Arriving at the end of 
it, we turn to the right, and soon reach the triumphal 
arch of the Forum, having now traversed the whole ex- 
cavated portion, except a few insignificant streets. 

The city was anciently surrounded by walls, of which 
the greater portion has been traced. Six gates and 
twelve towers may be counted. At the gate of Nola, the 
third westward from that of Herculaneum, part of the 
street has been excavated ; but the houses proved to 
be of the lower class, and it was not prosecuted. The 
general figure of the city is something like that of an 
eggj whose apex is at the amphitheatre : its circuit is 
nearly two miles, the greatest length little more than three 
quarters of a mile, and the breadth less than half a mile. 
Even Arrius Diomedes, who lived at the extremity of 
the suburb, would only have had about six hundred 
yards to walk to the Forum for his business, and less 
than a mile to the amphitheatre for his pleasure. The 
area of the city is about one hundred and sixty-one acres; 
the excavated part, which forms a slip along the western 
side, is about a quarter of the whole, and has been eighty- 
three years in excavating. Portions have been begun 
and finished with energy and rapidity at different times, 
especially by the French, who during their occupation of 
Naples made great exertions ; and to them we are in- 
debted for the most interesting parts yet discovered. 
Had Murat retained his throne, probably ere now the 
whole would have been disinterred. The parsimony of 
the present royal family, who by a grant of a few hun- 



PUBLIC ROADS AND STREETS. 97 

dred dollars out of their privy purse are enabled to ex- 
cavate a house annually, and whose great ambition it 
is to carry away in their pockets a few coins, or to put 
in their ears the rings snatched from the ashes of some 
defunct Pompeian, may delay the completion of the work 
for centuries. There are now excavated about eighty 
houses and innumerable small shops, the public baths, 
two theatres, two basilicae,. eight temples, the prison, the 
amphitheatre, and other public buildings of less note, 
fountains, and tombs. What remains of interest we know 
not ; but it is reasonable to hope that houses in size and 
elegance equal to any yet found may exist to reward the 
enquirer : for public buildings, it is not probable that any 
still to be discovered are equal in splendour to those around 
the Forum and the theatres. 

The chief approach to Pompeii was, as we have al- 
ready said, through Naples and Herculaneum, along a 
branch of the Appian way. It is well known that the 
Romans constructed with great solidity, and maintained 
with constant care, roads diverging from the capital to 
the extremities of the empire. The good condition of 
these was thought to be of such importance, that the 
charge was only entrusted to persons of the highest dig- 
nity, and Augustus himself assumed the care of those in 
the neighbourhood of Rome. The expense of their con- 
struction was enormous, but they were built to last for 
ever, and to this day remain entire and level in many 
parts of the world, where they have not been exposed to 
destructive violence. 

They usually were raised some height above the ground 
which they traversed, and proceeded in as straight a line 
as possible, running over hill and valley with a sovereign 
contempt for all the principles of engineering. They 
consisted of three distinct layers of materials 5 the low- 
9 



98 POMPEII. 

est, stones, mixed with cement, {statumen) ;^ the mid- 
dle, gravel or small stones, {rudera),'\ to prepare a level 
and unyielding surface to receive the upper and most 
important structure, which consisted of large masses ac- 
curately fitted together. It is curious to observe that 
after many ages of imperfect paving we have returned 
to the same plan. The new pavement of Cheapside and 
Holborn is based in the same way upon broken gran- 
ite, instead of loose earth which is constantly working 
through the interstices, and vitiating the solid bearing 
which the stones should possess. A further security 
against its working into holes is given by dressing each 
stone accurately to the same breadth, and into the form 
of a wedge, like the voussoirs of an arch, so that each 
tier of stones spans the street like a bridge. This is an 
improvement on the Roman system : they depended for 
the solidity of their construction on the size of their 
blocks, which were irregularly shaped, although carefully 
and firmly fitted. These roads, especially in the neigh- 
bourhood of cities, had, on both sides, raised foot ways 
(margines,) protected by curb-stones, which defined the 
extent of the central part {agger) for carriages. The 
latter was barrelled, that no water might lie upon it. 

The most ancient and celebrated of all was the Ap- 
pian way, called Regina Viarum, the Queen of Roads. 
It was constructed by the censor, Appius Claudius, in 
the year of the city 441, and extended from Rome to 
Capua. Afterwards it was continued to Brundusium. 
At Sinuessa it threw off a branch called the Domitian 
way, which ran along the coast to Raise, Neapolis, Her- 
culaneum-, and Pompeii. Let the reader suppose him- 
self pursuing this road, then as he approaches the latter 

* Statumen, that which supports anything. Vitruvius uses it for 
the coating of a floor. 

t Rudera, rubble, rough stone, or broken pottery. 



PUBLIC ROADS AND STREETS. 



99 



city, both sides of the way, for nearly a furlong before he 
reaches it, are occupied by tombs and public monuments 
intermixed with shops, in front of which were arcades. 
The chariot-way is narrow, seldom exceeding ten feet in 
width, except within the gate at the commencement of the 
great street, where it is upwards of twenty feet across ; 
the footways are two or three feet wide, and elevated 
from eight inches to a foot above the road, having a curb 
and guard stones. The traveller, passing through the 
Street of Tombs, enters the city by the gate of Her- 
culaneum, already described. Here a long tortuous street 
presents itself to his view, having on either side broken 
walls of lava plastered and decorated with arabesques, 
paintings, mingled with inscriptions written in the pecu- 
liar letter then in use. The streets are paved with large 
irregular pieces of lava joined neatly together, in which 
the chariot wheels have worn ruts, still discernible ; in 
some places they are an inch and a half deep, and in the 
narrow streets follow one track ; where the streets are 
wider, the ruts are more numerous and irregular, as 
shown in the annexed illustration, presenting a fac-simile 
of the pavement. In those places where several pieces 



^J 




Plan of the pavement, showing the ruts, &lc. 



100 



POMPEII. 



of lava met in one point, and where, in process of time, 
a hole was made, the ancients have repaired the injury 
with pieces of iron, which still remain in the angles. 
This method has generally been adopted throughout the 
city. In most places the streets are so narrow, that they 
may be crossed at one stride: where they are wider, a 
raised stepping-stone has been placed in the centre of 
the crossing. This, though in the middle of the car- 
riage way, did not much inconvenience those who drove 
about in the biga, or two-horsed chariot, because, the 





Biga, 



Plan of the stepping stone 
in the narrow street. 



width of these streets being only sufficient to admit the 
carriage, the wheels passed freely in the spaces left be- 
tween the curb on either side, and the stone in the cen- 
tre. These curbs are elevated from one foot to eighteen 
inches, and separate the foot pavement from the road. 
Throughout the city there is hardly a street unfurnished 
with this convenience. Where there is width to admit 
of a broad foot-path, the interval between the curb and 
the line of building is filled up with earth, which has 
then been covered over with stucco, and sometimes with 
a coarse mosaic of brickwork. Here and there traces 
of this sort of pavement still remain, especially in those 
streets which were protected by porticoes. 

The area of the Forum or principal square was not 
paved like the streets, but was covered with large reg- 
ular slabs of marble. These were joined together and 
laid with great accuracy ; but very little now remains, 



PUBLIC ROADS AND STREETS. 



101 



and what there is, is so covered with an accumulation of 
fine ashes blown from the carts which transport the earth 
from the excavations (the road being through the Forum), 
that it is scarcely to be discerned. 




Ancient biga covered with leather, in the Vatican. 



9* 



CHAPTER VI. 

ORIGIN AND USE OF FORUM. — ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFI- 
CATION OF BUILDINGS. DESCRIPTION OF FORUM OF 

POMPEII. TEMPLE OF JUPITER. 

In describing a Roman city, our attention is first drawn 
to the Forum, the focus of business, the resort of pleas- 
ure, the scene of all political and legal contention. In 
the early ages of Rome, one open space probably served 
for all the public meetings of the people, whether for 
the purposes of traffic, for the administration of justice, 
or for meetings to deliberate upon public affairs. So 
in Greek the same word. Agora, derived from ageiro, 
I collect, signifies equally a market, a place of assembly 
for citizens, and the assembly itself. As wealth and 
splendour increased, and business became more compli- 
cated, it was found inconvenient to have so many different 
occupadons carried on together, and two classes of fora 
arose ; -— Venalia, mere markets, as the Forum Boarium, 
or ox-market, Fiscarium, fish-market, &c, — and Civilia, 
those devoted to the other purposes of a place of assem- 
bly, of which, however, until the time of Julius Caesar, 
there was but one. He built a second of extraordinary 
splendour, the area alone of which cost the enormous 
sum of £800,000,^ from which we may imagine the ex- 
pense and splendour of the superstructure ; and others 
were atlerwards constructed by the Emperors. For the 
country, however, at all events in small places like Pom- 
peii, a single forum continued to be sufficient. 

Some difference existed between the Greek and Ro- 

* H. S. millies. Suet. 



CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS. 103 

man fora, derived from the difference of the uses to which 
they were to be appHed. The Greek were built square, 
with columns near each other, to give as much shelter 
as possible. On these was placed a marble architrave, 
supporting an upper ambulatory, or gallery for walking. 
This gallery the Romans retained (there appears to have 
been one at Pompeii) ; but the area, instead of being 
square, was oblong, and the pillars set at considerable in- 
tervals. These variations seem to have been made to 
give the greatest possible convenience for viewing shows 
of gladiators, v»^hich, previous to the building of amphi- 
theatres, were exhibited in the Forum. In its simple 
state, it was merely an open area, surrounded by a colon- 
nade, a sort of exchange ; but in the period of Roman 
splendour it was usually encompassed by a series of 
splendid public buildings, on which all the riches of archi- 
tecture were lavished. Basilicse, or courts of justice, — 
curiae, or places of assembly for the senate or local mag- 
istracy, — tabularia, where the public records were kept, 
— temples, prisons, public granaries, all things necessary 
for the public pleasure or convenience, were here collect- 
ed in immediate neighbourhood to each other. Various 
trades were exercised under the porticoes ; the money- 
changers had their stalls below : the management of the 
public revenue was usually carried on in the gallery 
above. At one end, or in an adjoining basilica, the 
praetor usually administered justice ; within, were the 
rostra from which orators addressed the people. The 
liveliness and tumult of the scene, where all these em- 
ployments were carried on, may well be imagined. 

It may be convenient, however, and may prevent repe- 
tition, if, before we enter upon a particular description 
of the buildings which usually composed this quarter of 
the town, a short account be given of the general struc- 
ture of temples, the most important and interesting, unless 



104 POMPEII. 

we except the baths, of Roman buildings, together with 
an explanation of the terms employed by Vitruvius in 
characterising them. These are universally derived from 
the disposition of the pillars, the distinguishing feature in 
all ancient architecture. Technical terms appear hard to 
those who are ignorant of their meaning; but when once 
understood, they express much in a small compass, and 
unless unreasonably multiplied, convey the clearest idea 
of the object to be described. The body of the temple 
was usually quadrangular, oblong, and enclosed by walls; 
this was called cella, the cell: it was adorned on the ex- 
terior with columns, varying in their proportions and de- 
sign, forming porticoes on the front, or on the sides, or 
both : and from the number of columns employed, and 
the intervals at which they were placed, the building took 
its architectural denomination. A temple was said to be 
built in Antis, when square columns {antce) were placed 
at the angles and along the sides, with two round columns 
in the front between the antse.^ If built with a detached 
portico in front, consisting of any number of columns, it 
was termed Prostyle :| if both ends were thus ornament- 
ed, it was termed Amphiprostyle ; if the colonnade ex- 
tended all round, it became Peripteral ;J and Dipteral, 
when built in the most expensive and magnificent shape, 
when a double range of pillars ran all round. A variety 

* Example, St Paul's, Covent Garden. 

t Prostyle, from Trpo^ before, and o-i-vkq;, a column, with col- 
umns in front Amphiprostyle, from ct^ac^/j on either side, prostyle 
at each end. Peripteral, winged all round, from Tngt, round, and 
TT^i^ov, a wing. Dipteral, double-winged, from cT/?, twice. Pseudo- 
dipteral, false double-winged, from -{ivS^q, false. Monopteral, 
nothing but wing, from ^ovc?, only. Pseudoperipteral, falsely wing- 
ed. Hypsethral, open to the sky, from vtto, under, and fit/6g«, a ser- 
ene sky. 

X Examples, the Bourse at Paris, or the circular temple of Vesta 
at Tivoli. 



CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS. 



105 



Pycnostyle . . .Q 1^ # *^ 

Systyle ® .2 . ® I The five styles of inter- 

Eustyle ....#• 2|.® V columniation employed 
Diastyle . . . © . 3 . .@ | in Temples. 
Arseostyle . @ . 4 . .® 



U 



m ANTIS 




MONOPTERAL PROSTYLE 



:^ 




PSEUDO DIPTERAL I'' ' 1 DIrTERAL 

HYP^THRaL 



O 



AMPHIPROSTYLE PERIPTERAL PERYPTERAL 



106 POMPEII. 

of this style was called Pseudodipteral,^ in which the por- 
ticoes projected as far from the cell as in dipteral temples, 
but the interior range of columns was omitted. This was 
considered an improvement, both as giving more room 
under the portico, and being less expensive. Another 
variety consisted merely of a circular colonnade, without 
a cell, but only an altar in the centre, this was called 
Monopteral ; in another, | where the cell was required 
to be large, the walls were thrown back, so as to fill up 
the intercolumniations, whence it was called Pseudope- 
ripteral. The two latter were especially devoted to sacri- 
fices. Hypgethral temples were so named, because the 
cell was open to the sky. These were usually of the 
largest and most magnificent description. The type of 
them given by Vitruvius consists of a portico of ten col- 
umns at either end ; it is dipteral, and has within the cell 
a double range of columns, one supporting the other, de- 
tached from the w^all. Folding doors opened into it at 
each end. There was no example of this style at Rome. J 
It originated probably in the difficulty of roofing over so 
large a space, and of sufficiently fighting the interior, 
windows not being usually admitted in these buildings. 
The religious ceremonies performed in these vast temples 
probably did not require much shelter ; and a partial shel- 
ter was given by the colonnade within the cell, which 
was ceiled and roofed, and probably was added with a 
view to this convenience. The building, called the Tem- 
ple of Jupiter, or by others the Senaculum, may be con- 
jectured, from its interior colonnade, to have been hypae- 
thral. 

Buildings were further classified with regard to the 
intercolumniations, or space from one column to another. 

* Example, St Martin in the Fields. t Vitruv. iv, 7. 

t Vit. iii, 2. 



CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS. 107 

They were called Pycnostile,^ when the columns were 
placed in the closest order practised, that is, when one 
and a half diameters apart 5 Systyle, when two diameters 
apart ; Eustyle, when two and a quarter diameters apart ; 
Diastyle, when three diameters apart ; and Ara^ostyle 
when the interval was greater than this. Vitruvius ob- 
jects to the Systyle arrangement, as inconvenient ^be- 
cause, when matrons going with their families to the 
temple have ascended the steps, they cannot pass arm in 
arm between the pillars, without going sideways.' This 
objection holds good against the temples of Pompeii, 
which for the most part are on a small scale. In the 
diastyle, he thinks that the pillars are too far apart, and 
that in consequence the stability of the entablature is 
endangered. The reader is aware, that in Grecian archi- 
tecture the arch was not used ; neither were the ancients 
acquainted with the means employed by our own archi- 
tects, to cramp together separate stones into one solid 
body. Blocks therefore were required of sufficient size 
to stretch from the centre of one column to that of the 
next ; and these, where the interval was large, and the 
material tender, were subject to break even under their 
own weight, much more with that of the entablature ad- 
ded. In the Ar^ostyle neither stone nor marble archi- 
traves could be used, but beams of timber rested on the 
columns. Buildings of this description, he says, are low 
and heavy, and the architraves ornamented with pottery, 
or brazen mouldings. The portico surrounding the Fo- 
rum at Pompeii was of this description. The Eustyle 
was, as its name imports, the most perfect, uniting con- 
venience, beauty, and strength. In this, the central in- 

* Pycnostyle, close-columned, from TrvMvog, close, and o-tvkoc^ a 
column. Systyle, near-columned, from a-vv, together. Eustyle, 
well-columned, from gy, well. Diastyle, open-columned, from (T/ot, 
apart. Arseostyle, thinly-columned, from ctpAiog^ scattered. 



108 POMPEII. 

tercolumniation in front of the temple was of three diam- 
eters, displaying to more advantage the door of the cella, 
with its ornaments, and affording a more ample space for 
ingress and egress. 

' An essential feature in the temples of Pompeii, as 
distinguished from those of Greece, is to be observed in 
the podium,^ or basement, on which they were elevated. 
In the reUgious edifices of an early age, no such charac- 
ter appears : they were placed upon two or three steps 
only, if steps they should be termed, when evidently not 
proportioned for convenience of access to the interior, but 
calculated rather with a view to the general effect of the 
whole structure.'! By thus raising the floor to a level 
with or above the eye, the whole order, from the stylo- 
bate, or continuous platform on which the columns rest, 
to the roof, was brought at once into view. The steps, 
Vitruvius says, should be of an odd number, that the 
right foot, being planted on the first step, may also first 
be placed on the pavement of the temple. To enter with 
the lefl foot foremost was considered unlucky. With 
regard to the proportions of the interior within the porti- 
coes, the breadth is directed to be half the length, and 
the cell to be a fourth part more in length than in breadth. 
The building is directed to stand east and west like our 
churches, and the statue of the presiding deity to be ele- 
vated above the altar, that the suppliants and priests might 
decently look up to the object of their worship. Thus 
an hypsethral temple would present a most splendid scene; 
the worshippers addressing their vows, the image appar- 
ently rising to behold them, and the building itself boldly 
projected on the eastern sky. It will be recollected that 
these are merely the rules laid down by Vitruvius ; it 
does not follow that they were always observed. 

* DiminutivG of Troug, the foot, 
t Gell, p, 227. 



■s Excavated 
T. Championet 




a.lmpluvia in the House-5. 

b. Pedestals for Statues. 

c. Inclosure in the Pantheon with 
the Tables for the sale of Provisions. 

d. Arch leadino into the court 
of the Granary &- Prison. 

e. Corn JcWine Measures. 
The dotted lines in the Elevations 
shew the supposed Upper Gallery- 



ly m 



DESCRIPTION OP FORUM. 109 

We now proceed to describe the Forum of Pompeii. 
Entering at the gate of Herculaneum, the main street of 
the town leads the visitor to the north-west corner. Here 
he gains admittance by a flight of steps, leading down- 
wards through an arch in a brick wall, still partially re- 
taining the stucco by which it was covered. Remains 
of iron gates were found at several of the entrances, 
from whence it is inferred that they were closed at night. 
There is a smaller passage to the right of the arch just 
mentioned, and between them a public fountain, attached 
to the wall. The annexed plate contains a ground -plan 
of the Forum restored from the remains now existing. 
An examination of this will afford a correct idea of the 
arrangement of the several edifices. 

Upon entering the spectator finds himself in a large 
area surrounded by columns and the ruins of temples, 
triumphal arches, and other public buildings, the particu- 
lar uses of which can in general only be conjectured. 
The red masses of brick, divested of their marble cas- 
ings, the brown and yellow tints of the tufa, the frag- 
ments of white stucco attached to the shattered walls of 
the difierent edifices, and the pedestals, which once sup- 
ported statues commemorating those who had deserved 
well of their country, are all that now remain to attest 
its former beauty and magnificence. 

Around the west, south, and east sides there runs a 
Grecian Doric colonnade, uninterrupted, except on the 
east, where the porticoes of the surrounding buildings in 
some instances come flush up to the colonnade, and in 
some places break the line of the upper gallery, preserv- 
ing an uninterrupted communication below. Where this 
was the case, stairs ran up to the gallery : but probably 
there was also some communication between these several 
divisions of it, without descending to the ground. True 
it is, that as no vestige of this upper story remains, it may 
10 



110 , POMPEII. 

seem rash to assert its existence so boldly : but the tra* 
ces of staircases, combined with the authority of Vitruvi- 
us, are sufficient to warrant us in doing so. Probably 
it was built of wood ; this would account for its total dis- 
appearance. The diameter of the colmuns was two feet 
three and a half inches, their height twelve feet, the in- 
terval between them six feet ten inches. On the eastern 
side there still remains a portion of an older arcade, which 
the inhabitants, at the time of the eruption, were in the 
course of replacing by the Doric portico. The pillars 
are of three materials ; of fine white caserta stone, re- 
sembling marble ; of ancient yellowish tufa ; and of brick 
plastered. 
I The wall by which we have entered is connected with 

I the back of a building called by some the Temple of 
I Jupiter, by others the Senaculum, or council-chamber. 
' It is prostyle, and of the Corinthian order : the columns 
are pycnostyle, and the portico is pseudo-dipteral and 
hexastyle, or having six columns in the front. A row of 
columns runs on each side along the interior of the cella, 
which, as has been observed, leads us to suppose that it 
was hypfethral. It is probable that there were two ranges 
of columns within the cella, one above another, as at 
Pa3stum, the floor of a gallery resting on the lower tier, 
since the height of the exterior was such as to require 
two orders in the interior (where the columns were small- 
er) to reach the roof, the object of the columns being 
support, and not mere decoration. A narrow staircase at 
the back of the temple, concealed behind three small 
chambers at the end of the cella, the walls of which rise 
to the height of the first order of columns, confirms the 
belief that there was formerly a gallery. The clear 
space of the cell, within these chambers and the colon- 
nade, was about forty-two feet by twenty-eight feet six 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. Ill 

inches. The interior has been painted ; red and black 
are the predominant colours. Diamond-shaped pieces of 
marble form the centre division of the pavementj which is 
enclosed within a broad border of black and white mosaic. 
In the centre of the door-sill there are traces of holes for 
the bolts of folding-doors. Upon the pavement fragments 
of a colossal statue were discovered. This temple is 
placed on an elevated basement or podium, which was 
ascended by many steps. Those nearest the columns 
are carried along the whole front of the portico, while the 
5teps near the ground are narrow, and sunk in a low 
parapet forming a basement to the upper flight. Greater 
breadth of effect and grandeur is communicated to the 
whole edifice by this mass of solid wall beneath the large 
columns which it seems to support. A magnificent ex- 
ample of this method of construction is to be seen in the 
portico of the London University. The dye^ of the 
basement incUnes inwards ; it is moulded above and be- 
low, and in front formed into pedestals, which are oblong, 
and adapted to receive equestrian statues. Near one of 
^em a sun-dial was found. Pedestals were also added 
m front at the angles of the basement of the portico. 
On the south-east a side door in the basement leads to 
vaults beneath the temple. The whole of the building, 
constructed as it is of stone and lava, has been covered 
with a fine white cement made of marble, still retaining 
great hardness. The workmanship does not appear to 
be very good or exact. The columns, and the spaces be- 
tween them, vary, none of them being equi-distant. The 
diameters of the columns are three feet seven inches, 
and three feet eight inches, making their height, according 

* The dye is that part of the basement which is placed between 
ihe under and upper moulding of the whole ; it is generally a plain 
surface. 



112 POMPEII. 

to the proportions observed, approach to thirty-six feet, 
about the size of the lower order of St Paul's cathedral, 
so that the whole height of the building was, including the 
basement, about sixty feet. Without the walls its breadth 
was forty-three feet, and its length a hundred to the end of 
the portico. Add twenty feet for the flights of steps, and 
the total length is one hundred and twenty feet. 

Adjoining the south-western end of the basement stand 
the ruins of an arch, built of brick, and cased with slabs 
of white marble, fastened on the brick-work by iron 
cramps. This is conjectured to have been triumphal ; 
but from its being connected with the temple of Jupiter 
by a low wall, reaching to the height of the adjoining 
basement, it is more probable that it was only the en- 
trance to a court in front of what may have been the 
public granaries. This wall evidently proves that the 
whole was constructed, not for show, but use. Had the 
arch been triumphal, it would have been more solidly 
built, isolated, and not disfigured by a small piece of 
wall attached to one side only, disfiguring also the base- 
ment of the most commanding building in the city. It 
may be presumed, therefore, to have formed the entrance 
to a court-yard before the granary and prisons, which 
are here situated at the north-west corner of the Forum ; 
such a convenience being almost necessary to the former, 
for the unloading the grain apart from the crowd in the 
Forum ; and to the latter as an outlet where prisoners, 
it may be supposed, were allowed to take exercise under / 
the eyes of their guards. That the prison stood here / 
there can be no doubt ; ^ indeed its exact spot is deter- | 
mined by the skeletons of two men, left to perish in the i 
general confusion. Their leg-bones were found still / 
within the shackles, and, with these bracelets, are still 

* Vide Donaldson's Pompeii. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 11$ 

preserved in the Museum at Portici. With regard to 
the other apartment, there certainly is not such convinc- 
ing evidence to prove that it was the public granary. 
It is well suited to such a purpose ; but the strongest 
evidence of its destination is to be found in the immediate 
neighbourhood of the public measures. We may further 
observe, with regard to the arch, that it is not sufficiently 
substantial for the purpose which is assigned to it, nor 
would the plane surface on the top be broad enough 
either for an equestrian statue or a triumphal car. But 
attached to the north-east angle of the temple of Jupiter 
there is a gateway, having the character of a triumphal 
arch. The massive piers, and part of the columns that 
adorned them, still remain. In each pier were two at- 
tached fluted Corinthian white marble columns, of good 
workmanship. In the centre of each pier, between the 
columns, are square-headed niches, in one of which there 
was a fountain, as is evident from the lead pipes which 
were here discovered. Statues, most probably, were 
placed in the four niches, and the fountain formed in 
one of them may have flowed through a cornucopia, or 
some other appropriate vessels, held in the hands of the 
figure. Statues, applied to these purposes, were com- 
monly placed at the fountains in Pompeii. Among others 
have been found two boys of beautiful workmanship, 
carrying vases on their shoulders, and two others with 
masks in their hands, the masks and vases resting on pe- 
destals. Water was conveyed up through the figures, 
and issued from the masks and vases. These statues, 
and many others intended for the same use, are made of 
bronze. Conduits of lead were frequently used in Pom- 
peii, to conduct the water to the public fountains and pri- 
vate baths. These, however, the Neapolitan government 
have caused to be torn up, and sold for their value as old 
metal. 

10* 



114 



POMPEII. 




Bronze figures to ornament fountaios. 



DESCRIPTION OP FORUM. 115 

Not the least interesting relic of antiquity, contained 
in the Museum at Naples, is the bronze cock of a res- 
ervoir, discovered at Capri during the excavations which 
were made in the palace of Tiberius. Time having firm- 
ly cemented the parts together, the water in its cavity has 
remained hermetically sealed during seventeen or eight- 
een centuries. Travellers are shown this curious piece 




Bronze cock found in the island of Capri. 

of antiquity, which being lifted and shaken by two men, 
the splashing sound of the contained fluid is distinctly 
heard. 

The arch from which this digression has led us, had, 
without doubt, an attic or low wall abvoe the cornice 
on which was placed either an equestrian statue or a 
car, the appropriate finish to such a structure. That 
either one or the other did surmount the attic, may be 
inferred from the fragments of a bronze statue of a man, 
and part of the legs of a horse, of the same metal, having 
been found in the immediate vicinity. It is built of bricks 
and lava, and has been covered with thin plates of mar- 
ble, a method of construction in use among the ancients ; 
and, from a principle of economy, much practised, not 
only in Pompeii, but even in Rome, where the brick 
walls, despoiled of their costly coatings, alone remain. 
Presuming that the Forum was closed for security, the 
opening of this arch must have had gates ; these, how- 
ever, no longer exist : possibly they were of wood, or if 
of bronze, they may have been carried away by the 



116 



POMPEII. 



Pompeians. An additional proof that the Forum was 
shut up at night is to be found in the small pier attached 
to the north-west angle of the arch, evidently built to re- 
ceive the iron or wood-work of a gate closing the foot- 
entrance by its side. Had it not been necessary to 
close the Forum, this small pier would have been useless, 
and the deformity of it would have been avoided. This, 
leading to the great western gate, and being also con- 
tiguous to the baths, near which there was another trium- 
phal arch, may be considered the principal entrance to 
the Forum, and, as such, was chosen for the site of a 
public monument. On the triumphal arch near the baths 
was placed an equestrian figure, the fragments of which 
were found during the excavation. The figure of the 




Eqaestrian statue of M. Nonus Balbus from Herculaneum, executed in inarbl«. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 11*7 

man is perfect, with the exception of one leg, but of the 
horse only two of the feet and the tail were found. 
The action of the statue resembles that of M. Aurelius 
in the Campidoglio at Rome, but it is of very inferior 
workmanship. Here was also found a skeleton, with 
sixty silver, and two copper coins. 




Marble bas-relief found in Pompeii, representing a warrior, and a black slave 
driving his biga. 

The buildings hitherto described, with the exception 
of the granary and prisons, form the north side of the 
Forum. We will now take those on the east side, and, 
describing them and their probable uses in the order of 
their succession, proceed along the south and west sides, 
back to the granary. Adjoining the pedestrian entrance, 
already mentioned, at the north-eastern angle of the Fo- 
rum, stands an edifice called^ the Pantheon, from twelve 
pedestals placed in a circle round an altar in the centre of 
its area, which are supposed to have supported the statues 
of the Dii Consentes, or Magni,* the aristocracy of Ital- 

* Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Vesta, Ceres, Neptune, Venus, Vul- 
can, Mars, Mercury, Apollo, Diana. These, with others called Dii 



118 P03IPEII. 

ian mythology. The area, one hundred and twenty by 
ninety feet, is bounded by the back walls of shops on the 
north and west sides ; by the ^dicula (a small temple, or 
shrine,) raised to the founder or patron, and two inclosures 
on the east ; and by the numerous cells belonging to the 
fraternity of priests on the south. Within, perhaps, a rec- 
tangular portico or gallery inclosed the twelve pedestals, or 
they may have been covered with a wooden temple, in the 
light style of architecture depicted on the walls of Pom- 
peii. jS traces, however, remain of such constructions ; 
and if any existed, they must have been destroyed in the 
fire which consumed the town, of which traces are con- 
tinually found in the charred timber turned up in the ex- 
cavations. In front of this building, under the portico of 
the Forum, are seven shops, possibly the Tabernae Ar- 
gentarise, or shops of money-changers ; the pedestals of 
some of the tables still remain. The entrance to the 
Pantheon is by a small vestibule in the centre of the area. 
There are four pedestals in front of it, and one at the end 
of each party wall between the shops. They probably 
were meant to receive columns. At the end of the shops 
was a staircase, which may have led to the upper ambu- 
latories. -Vear the entrance ninety-three brass coins were 
found. 

In the centre of the vestibule stood a small altar, which 
still remains, with doors opening on each side into the area 
beyond. Behind the ahar was a niche, on which the 
statue of some one of the gods was placed, so that the 
devout Roman had an opportunity of leaving his offering 

Select!, were entitled Dii Majorura Gentium, of the greater tribes ; 
the rest, Dii Minorum Gentium, of the lesser tribes ; in allusion to 
the distinction between the senators appointed by Romulus, and 
those appointed afterwards by Tarquinius Priscus, and others. The 
former were called Patres Majorum Gentium ; the latter, Patres 
Minorum Gentium. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 119 

as he entered, and propitiating the presiding deity. On 
the right side, as you enter, are arranged the cells of the 
priests ; over these were other apartments, as the holes in 
the side walls for the reception of joists indicate. Here 
are also holes in the piers in front of these cells, for the 
joists and floor of a gallery which gave access to the up- 
per apartments, as in the old inns still existing in London 
and elsewhere. The staircase has been entirely destroy- 
ed, so that its site cannot be ascertained ; it is however 
most natural to suppose it near the vestibule. There 
wej'e other entrances ; one in the centre of the north side, 
and another at the end of the cells, both leading into streets 
without the Forum. The farther end of this building was 
divided into three compartments. That in the centre was 
an aedicula, containing niches, in which were statues of 
Nero and Messalina. On the right, a door- way, between 
two columns, gave admission to a refectory for the use of 
the priests, or, as some have supposed, a place for the sale 
of such provisions as they had reserved from the sacrifice. 
Here there is a low platform, round three sides of the 
room, which may have been meant either for tricliniary 
couches, or have served as a place on which the provi- 
sions for sale were exposed.^ Round the inside runs a 
marble gutter, to carry off the water and refuse when the 
place was cleansed. On the other side of the sedicula an 

* The Romans, it is well known, reclined at their meals, appa- 
rently an inconvenient fashion, but not so inconvenient to persons 
who used no knives and forks, as to us who require two hands to get 
our food comfortably to our months. Three couches were usually 
placed in a dining room, one at each side of the table, leaving the 
fourth open to the servants. Hence the word triclinium, rguc 
KKiv:ti, three beds, which is given both to the couches and to the 
room. The distance between the sides of this podium, and the 
opening in the east side of it, as represented in the plan, together 
with the gutter surrounding it, make the second account of it the 
more probable. 



120 



POMPEII. 



enclosure has been formed with columns on the exterior, 
similar to the entrance of the refectory. Within it is a 
small sedicula, before which stands an altar. This apart- 
ment has been twice stuccoed and painted, the first de- 
sign having been replaced by a series of arabesques. 
This style of decoration, common to all the public and 
private buildings of Pompeii, has been condemned by 
Vitruvius ; yet, even in defiance of his authority, we feel 
disposed to admire their bold and harmonious colouring, 
and the lightness, elegance, and variety of their design. 
The paintings in this edifice are worthy, for their beau- 
ty, of especial notice ; the various designs are well com- 
posed, and the colours are as brilliant as when first laid 
on ; among the figures, not the least interesting is one 
of the paintress herself, holding in one hand an oval white 
palette, apparently of silver, in the other, brushes tinged 
with several colours. Her five fingers appear to grasp 
the palette, through as many holes perforated in the metal. 




Painting of a Galley on the walls of the Pantheon. 



The art of fresco painting is still practised, but the secret 
of employing a medium so durable as to withstand, first 
fire, and afterwards the damp of so many ages, is unknown 
to the moderns. It has been supposed, that the medium 
employed to liquify the pigments, used in these paintings, 
was wax mixed with oil. Supposing that wax, than which 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 121 

nothing is more lasting, were used, it may be imagined that 
the object of a silver or metal palette waste retain so much 
heat as would liquify the menstruum, without being incon- 
venient to the artist. The paintings consist of architect- 
ural compositions of long aerial columns, vistas through 
doorways, showing the ornamented ceilings, an abundant 
variety of figures and borders of flowers, with an almost 
endless detail of enrichment, painted for the most part with 
dazzling colours, among which, bright vermiUon, jet black, 
deep crimson, azure blue, and golden yellow, usually form 
the ground. To these are added a variety of mixed tints, 
more delicate as the objects are supposed to recede from 
the eye. The latter consist principally of light greys, pink, 
purple, and green. It must however be confessed, that 
good taste did not hold exclusive sway in Pompeii ; for 
in that case a proprietor would hardly have painted the 
exterior of his house with chequers resembling the sign 
of a modern alehouse ; or have covered the external walls 
with a decoration similar to the infantine amusement of a 
child, who, for the first time in possession of a pair of com- 
passes and a colour-box, proceeds to describe circles in- 
tersecting each other, and then fills them with a coloured 
patchwork. ^ Historical subjects are painted in the cen- 
tres of the compartments formed by the arabesques ; one 
of these represents Ulysses in disguise meeting Penelop© 
on his return to Ithaca. 

Another theory has been adopted by an ingenious Nea- 
politan architect. Carlo Bonnucci, with regard to this 
building. The temple at one end he calls the temple of 
Augustus, and the remainder he sets apart for the banquets 
of the Augustals ; and he cites Vitruvius as authority for 
such a situation as that chosen. Vegetius tells us that 

♦ It has been imagined that the occupier was a worker in mosaic, 
and that this patchwork was a sort of sign. 

11 



/ 



122 POMPEII. 

the Augustals were in high esteem : the order was found- 
ed by Augustus, and their duty was to lead the troops in 
battle ; they also presided at the feasts called Augustalia, 
kept in honour of the founder. The numerous inscrip- 
tions relative to these personages discovered at Pompeii 
would lead us to infer that they were of some importance, 
and from one of these they appear to have been six in 
number. Sir William Gell, following the opinion of Bon- 
nucci, saysj ^ that the Augustals were possessed of funds 
which supplied them with the means of feasting and invit- 
ing their fellow-citizens to partake in their banquet, for 
which purpose the building now called Pantheon was so 
well calculated, that, whether belonging to a particular 
order, or the common property of all the inhabitants of 
Pompeii, it may be safely considered as a place of feast- 
ing or carousal under the protection of some deity, who, 
from his more elevated sacellum, was supposed to over- 
look and patronize the banquet. That such was the des- 
tination of this edifice, and that it differed but little in its 
uses from that which the Greeks called Lesche, and the 
modern Italians a trattoria and coffee-house, seems to be 
rendered more probable by many of its internal decora- 
tions ; while its proximity to the Forum, the chief resort 
of the inhabitants of the city, would point out this situation 
as the most eligible for a place of conversation and refresh- 
ment.' 

The shops in the street on the north side of the Pan- 
theon most probably supplied those who feasted with dain- 
ties ; and it has been called the Street of Dried Fruits, 
from the quantity of raisins, figs, plums, and chestnuts, 
fruit of several sorts preserved in vases of glass, hemp- 
seed, and lentils. Scales, money, moulds for pastry and 
bread, were discovered in the shops ; and a bronze statue 
of Fame, small, and delicately executed, having golden 
bracelets round the arms. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 123 




Bronze pastry-mould. 




Bread, from a painting on the walls of the Pantheon. 



124 POMPEII. 

In the northern entrance to the Pantheon the name 
CELSVM is written on a pilaster ; near it was found in 
a box a gold ring with an engraved stone set in it, forty- 
one silver and a thousand and thirty-six brass coins. Here 




Gold ring with an engraved stone. 

also on both sides of the walls are representations of Cu- 
pids making bread. The mill is placed in the centre of 
the picture with an ass on each side, from which we may 
infer that these animals were used in grinding the flour. 
At the entrance to the south a hatchet is painted as ne- 
cessary for cutting up the meat, and the picture is filled 
up with boars' heads, fish, hams, Sic. In other parts of 
the building, above the elegant paintings already men- 
tioned, are geese, turkeys, * vases of eggs, fowls and 
game ready plucked for cooking, oxen, sheep, fruit in 
glass dishes, a cornucopia with various amphorae for wine, 
and many other accessories for the banquet. 

In the centre of the court, near the twelve pedestals, 
is a sink, which was found filled with fish-bones and re- 
mains of other articles of food. 

The adjoining building has been supposed by some anti- 
quaries to have been the place of meeting of the Augus- 
tals ; by others, a temple dedicated to three deities, on 
account of three recesses, apparently for statues, in three 

* It is doubtful whether the turkey was known to the ancients, 
though meleagris is usually so translated. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



125 




11* 



126 



POMPEII. 





From the paintings on the walls of the Pantheon. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



127 




From the paintings in the Pantheon. 



sides of the building. It may with more probability be 
considered the Senaculum, or place of meeting for the 
senate, or town council : its spacious area, eighty-three 
feet by sixty, adapts it well to this purpose, and the niches 
in the wall may have been meant to receive statues of dis- 
tinguished senators and magistrates. The portico of this 
edifice was composed of tinted white marble columns, of 
the Ionic order, its front ranging with the portico of the 
Forum, without interrupting the promenade below. There 



128 



POMrEII. 



was a staircase at the north end of it, which probably led 
to the upper gallery, or ambulatory ; and a passage may 
also have been formed over the immediate entrance to the 
Senaculum, communicating with the ambulatory on the 
other side. The columns of this portico were of course 
larger and loftier than those of the Forum. Within, the 
pavement of the area is raised above the level of the por- 
tico. On each side, upon entering, are two large reces- 
ses, with pedestals attached to the centre of the back wall, 
possibly destined to support the effigies of the gods to whom 
the place was sacred. The altar stands in the centre of 
the area, nearly in front of each statue. The building is 
terminated at the end by a semicircular recess, where there 
is a raised seat for the chief magistrates. At the side of 
one of the recesses is a chamber for records. This build- 
ing, for convenience, may have been entirely covered, and 
the light admitted through the portico. Whether light was 
also admitted through glass casements in the roof or not 
must remain conjectural ; but that the ancients were ac- 
quainted with the use of glass windows, is sufficiently prov- 
ed by the quantity of flat glass discovered during the exca- 
vations ; and also by its having been found ingeniously fit- 
ted (as will be seen in the sequel) to those rare and minute 
openings which were dignified with the name and office of 
windows in Pompeii. 




View of the small temple of Mercury, called by others of duirinus. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



129 



Adjoining to the building last described, within an area 
fifty-seven feet six inches by fifty feet seven inches, stands a 
small temple elevated on a basement. It is approached 
through a narrow covered vestibule, communicating be- 
tween the court and the Forum. On each side of the 
basement are steps leading to the platform of the cella; 
in front of it, in the centre of the court, is an altar of 
white marble^ bearing an unfinished bas-relief which has 
been imagined to represent Cicero sacrificing, from a 
supposed resemblance in the principal figure to that great 




Bas-relief oa the altar, representing a sacrifice. 

orator. The victim is led by the servant (popa)y whose 
office it was to take its life, naked to the waist, bearing 
his sacrificial axe {malleus ; ) he is clothed round the 
middle with a short cloth, which does not descend to the 
knees. The sacrificer appears to be a magistrate 5 he ia 
crowned with a wreath, and his robes partly cover his 
head. He holds in his hand a patera, as if about to 
sprinkle the victim, and thereby cleanse it from its im- 
purities before offering it to the gods. The popa and 
an attendant are also crowned with wreaths. A boy 
follows the principal personage, holding in his hands a 
vase and patera, or plate, and having the sacred vitta or 
fillet hanging from his neck ; near him is a figure hold- 
ing a patera filled apparently with bread. Another figure 
appears to be sounding the tibia, or double flute, fol- 
lowed by lictors, with their fasces. The temple is rep- 



130 



POMPEII. 



resented in the back-ground decorated with garlands. 
On the eastern and opposite side is a wreath of oak- 
leaves bound with the vitta, having on each side young 
olive-trees sculptured; and on the north and south are 
the various implements and ornaments of sacrifice, as 
the vase, the patera, vitta, garlands, the incense box, a 




Utensils used in sacrificing. 

ladle, and a spiral instrument, the use of which is un- 
known, unless it belonged to the haruspex, who inspected 
the bowels of the victims, and prophesied of the future 
according to the appearances presented to him. Enrich- 
ed mouldings decorate both the upper and lower part 
of the altar. The temple is built of stone and decorat- 
ed on the outside with pilasters ; its external dimensions 
are but fifteen feet six inches by thirteen feet eight inches, 
so as not to admit much more than the statue whose 
pedestal still remains. The peribolus, or wall surround- 
ing the whole, is constructed of brick, divided by pilas- 
ters into compartments, in which are sunk panels, sur- 



DESCRIPTION OF FCRUM. 



131 



mounted at the top by a running ornament consisting 
of a series of triangles and segments of circles placed 




Ornaments of sacrifice on the sides of the altar. 

alternately. This brickwork having never been covered 
w^ith stucco, and the altar being unfinished^ a conjecture 
has been formed, that the Pompeians were disturbed by 
the eruption of Vesuvius while they were rebuilding this 
very temple, which had perhaps been destroyed by the 
previous earthquake. Here also, as in almost every 
building destined for religious purposes, were apartments 
for priests, and in them a store of amphorae was found. 
These were large earthen vessels in which wine was 
kept. The liquor was brought to the door in carts, in 
large skins, and drawn off into these vases. The follow- 
ing illustrations, taken from a painting on the walls, and 
from a terra-cotta bas-relief, the sign of a wine-shop in 
Pompeii, show their form and the manner in which they 
are carried about. 

The building next in succession partakes of the nature 
of a basilica. On the architrave over the side-entrance 
from the street, which runs nearly at right angles to 
this side of the Forum, is the following inscription, which 
has been repeated on large blocks of marble found in the 
Forum : — 



132 



POMPEII. 




DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



133 




Manner of carrying the amphora. 

EUMACHIA. L.F. SACERD: PUBLIC. NOMINE. SUO. ET. 
M. NUMISTRI. FRONTONIS. FILL CHALCIDICUM. 
CRYPTAM. PORTICUM. CONCORDIA. AUGUST^E. 
PIETATI. SUA PEQUNIA. FECIT. EADEMQUE 
DEDICAVIT. 

We learn from hence that a female of the name of Eu- 
machia erected, at her own expense, and in the name of 
herself and her son, the crypto- portico, or walled gal- 
lery, ^ and the chalcidicum, or enclosed space at the 
end of the area,| in the centre of which is a large semi- 
circular recess. Immediately behind this recess, painted 
green and red, stands her own statue, five feet four inches 
in height, on a pedestal placed in a niche in the centre of 
the wall, with this inscription : 

EUMACHIA. L.F 

SACERD. PUBL. 
FULLONES 



* A crypto-portico (from xpuTr^o?, hidden) is a gallery, in which 
the columns on the interior are replaced by walls, merely pierced 
for windows. 

t Chalcidica are apartments separated by a partition from the 
body of a basilica, or other large building. The name, Festus 
says, is derived from the city Chalcis. Vitruvius directs that chal- 
cidica should be constructed at the ends of a basilica, if the area is 
disproportionately long. It seems to signify, also, any large portico. 
« Avet animus atque ardet in chalcidicis illis magnis atq : in 
palatiis cceli deos deasq : conspicere intectis corporibus. ' Arno- 
bius, 1. iii, p. 105. Facciolati. 
12 



134 POMPEII. 

from which it would appear that the cloth-scourers * had, 
in gratitude to Eumachia, erected this statue to her 
memory. The whole structure consists of a large area, 
about one hundred and thirty feet by sixty-five, surround- 
ed by a double gallery, and has in front a pseudo-dipteral 
portico of eighteen columns, elevated on pedestals. Un- 
der its centre was the great public entrance, which was 
closed with folding doors, turning in sockets of bronze, 
and secured by bolts shot into the holes still remaining 
in the marble threshold. This entrance was flanked by 
two large circular recesses, one on each side, and be- 
yond these again, at the extreme end of the building, by 
raised platforms, the staircases to which still remain. 
Hence orators might have harangued an audience shel- 
tered under the portico, and edicts relative to commerce 
might have been publicly read. 

The entrance to the area is through a passage, on 
each side of which are other passages, with a staircase 
on the right leading to galleries above. The entrance to 
the chalcidicum is from the Street of the Silversmiths, 
forming the southern boundary of the building. Here 
is a small chamber for the door-keeper, through which 
is seen a flight of steps -ascending to the floor of the chal- 
cidicum and crypto-portico ; the walls on each side of 
the steps are painted in black panels, divided by red 
pilasters. Under the staircase are the remains of a ther- 
mopolia, or shop where warm water and warm decoc- 
tions were sold. | A curious vessel for making these 
preparations has been discovered something like a modern 

* A scouring shop has lately been excavated from this place. 
T Donaldson's Pompeii. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



135 




Urn for w^m decoctions drank in the Thermopolia. 




Section of the urn. 



urn, but much more complicated. This figure shows a 
section of the urn with its conical cover; a a, is the body of 



136 POMPEII. 

the urn, b, a small cylindrical furnace in the centre: it has 
four holes in the bottom, as shown in the plan at g, meant 
to let the ashes fall through, and to create a draught; c, a 
vase-shaped mouth, by means of which the water was 
poured in, serving also for the escape of steam; cJ, a 
tube which, by means of a cock, served to let off the 
fluid. It is placed thus high to prevent the pipe being 
stopped up by the ingredient decocted, e, a conical 
cover, the hollow of which is closed by a thin plate some- 
what concave ; /, a moveable flat cover, with a hole in 
the middle, which closes the whole urn except the mouth 
of the small furnace; m m, nuts and screws which fasten 
this moveable cover on the rim of the urn; i i, rim, con- 
vex on the outside, and concave within, which, the cover 
being put on, receives into its concavity the rim of the 
mouth of the furnace. 

The edifice erected by Eumachia has a peristyle or 
uninterrupted colonnade of white marble Corinthian col- 
umns, admirably executed. Unfortunately, only a small 
portion of one pillar remains, still their plan and disposi- 
tion is exactly determined by the marble stylobate, on 
which they were placed. Their total disappearance has 
been accounted for, by supposing that the Pompeians 
themselves had dug up and carried off* these expensive 
ornaments subsequent to the demolition of their city. 
Behind this peristyle the crypto-portico ran round three 
sides of the building, forming the external boundary on 
the north, south, and east sides. It was lighted by win- 
dows placed at regular intervals, having marble lintels, 
to which moveable windows were temporarily fixed ; but 
these openings do not always front the spaces between 
the columns of the area. The east end must have been 
darker than the north and south sides, from the light 
being intercepted by the chalcidicum ; it appears, however, 
that this inconvenience was obviated by a borrowed light 
through that building itself, the back and front of which 



DESCRIPTtON OF FORUM. 



137 



were pierced with apertures. There were most probably 
wooden galleries above the colonnade and crypto-portico, 
and the upper cornice seems to have projected far into the 
area, thus protecting numerous little tables built of lava, 
and covered with marble, which served for the purpose of 
displaying the goods which were here exhibited and sold; 
for it appears probable that this building was for the use 
of the Pompeian manufacturers of cloth, whose gratitude 
to Eumachia is expressed by the statue and inscription 
abovementioned. On one side of the niche, where the 
statue of Eumachia is placed, is a false door, six feet 
wide, and ten and a half high, painted on the stucco to 
correspond with the opening on the other side ; it is of a 
yellow colour, and framed with styles and panels, like those 
now in use. It is divided perpendicularly into three con> 
partments. This door may be presumed to be similar to 
the door at the entrance to the chalcidicum from the 
Street of Silversmiths. To make the representation more 
exact, the ring which served for a handle has been imitat- 
ed. The walls of the crypto-portico are also divided into 
large panels, painted alternately red and yellow, and deco- 
rated in the prevalent fashion, not the least singular part of 
which, as demonstrative of their horticultural taste, are the 
representations of borders of flowers along the bottom of 
the walls, representing a plant similar to the iris, except 




Statue of Eumachia and false door, 

12^ 



138 FOMPEIl. 

that the colour of the flower is vermilion. In the centre 
of each panel is a small figure or landscape. 

The chalcidicum is raised above the level of the area, 
and must have had temporary steps of wood ; it is divided 
into two parts by the recess already mentioned, which may 
have served for a civil tribunal. Near this was found a 
statue without the head ; the robe with which it was draped 
was edged with a gilded or red stripe. There can be no 
doubt that this part of the building was the chalcidicum 
mentioned in the inscription, from the passage already 
quoted from Vitruvius, which directs chalcidica to be cut 
off from one or both ends of a basilica, if the arej^ is 
longer than it ought to be. Such an enclosed space was 
almost necessary, (if we are right in considering it as a 
sort of cloth-market) for the safe custody of goods which 
remained unsold ; as were the tables under the projecting 
cornice for the display of goods, and the crypto-portico, 
or inclosed gallery for the transaction of business during 
the winter. The recess in the centre may also have been 
occupied by a magistrate, who ratified the sale, received 
the impost, if any was levied, and settled all disputes aris- 
ing from the commercial transactions. It may be mention- 
ed here, that the basilica of Paulus jEmihus at Rome had 
also a semicircular recess at one end for the tribunal. 
The building appears to have been repairing at the time of 
the eruption, as a piece of marble was found on the spot, 
with a line drawn in charcoal, to guide the chisel of the 
mason. 

On the external wall of the crypt is a notice of a gladia- 
torial show, as well as an inscription, tending to prove the 
opulence of the city ; it is to the effect that ' all the gold- 
smiths invoked Caius Cuspius Pansa the ^dile.' 

Along the south side of the chalcidicum runs a broad 
street, more regularly built than any other in Pompeii. It 
is called the Street of the Silversmiths, from articles of 
jewellery having been found in some of the shops. These 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



139 



are constructed of masonry, neatly executed, and orna- 
mented with elegant pilasters. Pilasters also flank the 
doorways. The style of domestic architecture observable 
in this street is purely Grecian. The entablature is adorn- 
ed with dentils, or small oblong blocks, placed at intervals 
on a horizontal line immediately under the cornice : these 
dentils were formed originally by the projecting beams 
which supported the roof and floor of any building. The 
most singular part of the construction of the houses in this 
street arises from the courses of masonry, and the mould- 
ings being inclined with the very gentle slope of the street j 




140 POMPEII. 

this singularity has hitherto escaped the notice of the nu- 
merous writers on the antiquities of Pompeii. This method 
appears to have been adopted to avoid breaking the hori- 
zontal lines of the architecture, and thus ruining the uni- 
formity of the street. The inclination of the ground fortu- 
nately is very slight, or the expedient, which is we believe 
unique, could not have been adopted. The carriage-way 
up to the Forum is interrupted by the platform under the 
colonnade being raised one step. The street was supplied 
with water from two fountains, a luxury so common in Pom- 
peii, that there is hardly a street without one. They were 
generally ornamented, and kept constantly supplied from a 
large reservoir placed near them. We have here given a 
sketch of one of these fountains in its present state, situated 
^ in Triviisy'^ or at the junction of three streets. Tn the 
passage of one of the houses in the Street of the Silver- 
smiths there is a coarsely executed painting of the twelve 
principal Gods and Goddesses, and also a representation 
of what may be presumed to be Pluto, drawn with black 
colour on the wall by some indifferent artist ; this latter is^ 
not unlike the modern vulgar notion of the devil, a fierce 
black-looking fellow, with horns and cloven feet. The 
names of the owners are written on their houses. One, 
belonging to Vettius, has the following inscription, painted 

Fac-simile inscription on the walls. 

over another still older and illegible, in the peculiar care« 
less character then in use. The upper line is part of the 
older inscription : they were usually done in black or red \ 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 141 

some were merely scratched on the wall. The Album 
of the Latins (levy,(x)^a of the Greeks) is often to be met 
with on the external walls of the houses of Pompeii exactly 
as Suidas describes it ; that is to say, a piece of the wall 
whitened, fit to receive inscriptions relative to the affairs 
of the citizens. Sometimes the taste of the inscriber led 
him to inclose this album, or whitened wall, with a border, 
in the form of the ancient tabellum or tablet used to write 
on ; which practice has been handed down to us, and may 
be often seen on the canisters in the shops of grocers, 
tobacconists, chemists, &lc. One of these inscriptions runs 
thus : — 

MARCUM. CERRINIUM. VATIAM. ^EDILEM. ORAT. UT' 
FAVEAT. SCRIBA. ISSUS: DIGNUS. EST. 



\i jii VJ.)X^^ iiv I vm . - U-' 



-'I DlCAJ05-£Sr r^ 






Fac-simile inscription. 



Which may be translated — ' The scribe Issus beseeches 
Marcus Cerrinius Vatia, the ^dile, to patronise him : he 
is deserving. ' This appears to be equivalent to our ^ Pat- 
ronised by His Royal Highness,' &c. Faventinus, most 
probably another scribe patronised by the same ^dile, 
gives a portrait of himself with his pen behind his ear. At 
the farthest end of this street was discovered a skeleton, 
supposed to have been a priest of Isis. It was covered 
with pumice-stones and other volcanic matter. In the 
hand* was a bag of coarse linen, not entirely destroyed, 

* The hand, with the cloth, is now in the Museum at Naples. 



142 



POMPEII. 



i VA77mXB0'Vf^ 




Fac-simile. 



containing three hundred and sixty silver coins, forty-two 
of copper, and six of gold ; and near him several figures 
belonging to the worship of Isis, small silver forks, cups, 
paterae in gold and silver, a cameo representing a Satyr 
striking a tambourine, rings set with stones, and vases of 
copper and bronze. On the south side of this street stands 
a building, the last on the eastern side of the Forum, de- 
void of all ornament or inscriptions that might mark its use. 
The naked walls furnish nothing on which we may evea 
found a conjecture. A double colonnade runs along the 
front of this buildino: and the southern end of the Forum. 
At the south-eastern angle another street runs on to the 
Forum, but a raised step at the end denies entrance to 
carriages : on the centre of this step there is a fountain. 

The names of owners of houses are painted on the stuc- 
co at the sides of the doors. In several of these houses, 
skeletons with rings, bracelets, necklaces, and other orna- 
ments, together with many coins, were found. The kitch- 
ens were built under ground, which is not common in Pom- 
peii, and indeed nowhere else observable, except on the 
side next the sea, where the declivity of the rock is so 
great that the offices are necessarily placed below the 
ground floor, to bring that floor to a level. The south 
end of the Forum is occupied by three buildings, which 
much resemble each other in their plan, and are nearly 
of the same size. In the absence of all inscriptions, we 
have supposed two of these to be curise, or places of as- 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 143 

sembly for the magistrates, and the central one an JErari- 
um, or treasury. They have undoubtedly been highly 
decorated with marble statues and columns, fragments of 
which, together with pedestals for the latter, still remain 
on the floors ; and it is said that many gold, silver, and cop- 
per coins were found in one of them. The floors are ele- 
vated above the colonnade, and are reached by steps : they 
have a circular recess at the end for a tribunal, where a 
magistrate might preside over the meetings in the curiae, 
and a quaestor attend to his duties in the public treasury. 
These buildings strike the eye of the traveller upon first 
entering the Forum, from the high dark-red masses of brick 
contrasting with the verdant mountains at their back, and 
the low, limy buildings around them. We are inclined to 
think that they were divided into two stories, from traces 
of stairs which would have led to the upper floor, and also 
to the wooden gallery above the Forum. There is a 
narrow passage between the western curia and the aera- 
rium. 

On the western side of the Forum are the basilica, a 
^emple supposed to be dedicated to Venus, and the public 
granaries and prisons, which latter have been already no- 
ticed. The basilica, or court of justice, is the largest 
building in Pompeii : it is of an oblong form, two hundred 
and twenty feet in length by eighty, and corresponds in 
some particulars with the usual ancient description of that 
building. It is placed on the warmest side of the Forum, 
at its south-west angle ; and is entered through a vesti- 
bule having five doorways of masonry, in which grooves 
have been cut for the insertion of wooden door-jambs. 
Prom the vestibule the area of the basilica is reached by 
a flight of four steps, leading through ^ve doorways, as in 
the vestibule. The roof was supported by a peristyle of 
twenty-eight large Ionic columns, constructed of brick : 
thus the space between the exterior walls and the peristyle 
was converted into a covered gallery, where the suitors 



144 



POMPEII. 




Plan showing the construction of the columns of the Basilica. 

were sheltered from the weather, while the light was ad- 
mitted hypeethrally from the centre of the peristyle. The 
tribunal was placed at the farthest end of the building, 
and on each side of it were two square chalcidica ; a smal- 
ler order of half columns was attached to the walls, and 
four whole columns flank and divide the principal entrance; 
at each corner of the building two columns are joined 
together, something in the manner of a Gothic pier. This 
we believe to be a unique example of columns being thus 
united in Grecian architecture. Upon this smaller order 
the joists of the upper gallery must have rested at one end: 
the other most probably was let into the shaft of the larger 
column, as the smaller is placed immediately behind it. 
The gallery projected as far as the centre of the large 
columns. Along the intercolumniations ran a pluteum, 
or parapet, high enough to prevent persons from falling 
over : this was most probably repeated all round the back 
of the gallery, on the face of the lateral walls, upon which, 
as a basement, a second order was raised. The aggregate 
height of the two smaller orders was most probably equal 
to that of the larger order of the peristyle, and the roof 



Description of forum. 145 

Was sustained, as has been before mentioned, by the lateral 
walls and the columns of the peristyle, which rose to the 
same height. 

The second gallery was reached by a staircase, placed 
without the building ; the roof also may have inclined in- 
wards, and the water have been carried away by chan- 
nels sunk round the marble floors ; but there are no re- 
mains of these floors, and as the place bears evident marks 
of having been excavated by the ancients, possibly for re- 
cords of important trials, it would appear that they had, at 
the same time, availed themselves of the opportunity af- 
forded them to carry away the pavement of the building, of 
which only the pozzuolano, in which it was bedded, re- 
mains. In the centre of the lateral wall are two entran- 
ces, near which are wells. At the farthest end was raised 
the tribunal for the prsetor, or judge, which must have been 
ascended by wooden steps : it is decorated with small col- 
umns, between which, at the back, were small apertures, 
and at the sides closets, probably for their robes of office. 
Beneath were temporary dungeons for the accused ; and 
there are two holes in the floor, through which orders 
were transmitted to the person in charge of the prisoners. 
In front of the tribunal was a pedestal, on which the legs 
of a bronze statue were found. On each side of the tribu- 
nal were two enclosed apartments, intended probably for 
the use of suitors and their advocates, or the officers, lie- 
tors, and necessary attendants of the courts. The exter- 
nal walls are quite plain ; but in the interior, courses of 
masonry are represented in stucco, painted with various 
colours in imitation of marble. Inscriptions have been 
faintly scratched on these walls by the loiterers in the 
courts, by no means remarkable for correctness either in 
style or sentiment. The large fluted columns which sup- 
port the roof are singularly constructed with bricks and 
pieces of tufa, radiating from the centre, as may be seen 
in the foregoing plan, showing two akernate layers. All, 
13 



146 POMPEII. 

whether of stone or brick, are covered, as well as the 
walls^ with a fine marble stucco of great hardness. The 
opinion here expressed, that the lateral walls reached to 
the height of the larger order, varies from that adopted 
by Sir W. Gell, who thinks that the peristyle alone sup- 
ported the principal roof, called testudo, and that it rose 
above the rest of the building. He also thinks that the 
roof of the gallery, or portico, round the testudo inclined 
inwards, resting against the shaft of the large columns of 
the peristyle, and thus cutting in two parts the most im- 
portant feature of the whole building. We dissent from 
this, because, had the construction been such as Sir W. 
Gell supposes, the whole would have been covered ; and 
such ingenious architects as the Pompeians employed 
would hardly have built the roof of the surrounding gallery 
so as to throw its drippings into the area within the peris- 
tyle, which, being covered, would have been the favourite 
place of assembly. Next to the basilica, which is an iso- 
lated building, and separated from it by a street communi- 
cating with the Forum, is a temple, said to be dedicated 
to Venus. It is peripteral and amphiprostyle, and is ele- 
vated on a podium, or basement. The portico in front of 
the cell is tetrastyle and pseudodipteral, and the columns 
are set araeostyle. Within the cell, which was very small, 
part of a female statue, its pedestal, and a beautiful mosaic 
border, were found : hence it has been called the temple 
of Venus, a supposition confirmed by the following inscrip- 
tion : — 

M . HOLCONIVS. RVFVS. D.V.I.D. TER. 
C. EGNATIVS. POSTHVMVS. D.V.I.D. TER 
EX. D.D. IVS. LVMINVM. 
OPSTRVENDORVM . HS . CO CO 00 
REDEMERVNT . COL . VEN . COR . 

VSQVE . AD . TEGULAS . 

FACIVND . CCERARVNT . * 

* Donaldson. 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



147 




Mosaic border. 



^ Marcus Holconius Rufus, and Caius Ignatius Posthu- 
mus, duumvirs of justice for the third time, by a decree 
of the Decurions, bought again the right of closing the 
openings for three thousand sesterces, and took care to 
erect a private wall to the college of the incorporated Ve- 
pereans up to the roof.' It is very possible that these 



148 POMPEII. 

openings were between the thick piers on the side next 
the colonnade of the Forum^ and that, previous to their 
being closed, the public could see into the area surround- 
ing the fane of Venus. It is easy to understand w^hy the 
magistrates should deem it proper that they should be clos- 
ed up. 

The temple stood in an open area, one hundred and 
fifty feet by seventy- five, surrounded by a wall and portico. 
At the north end was the priests' apartment, having an out- 
let into the Forum ; the public entrance was at the south. 
Opposite the latter, bronze ornaments resembling the heads 
of large nails were found, with which the door might have 
been decorated, according to a practice common among 
the ancients. The columns of the temple were Corinthian, 
fluted, and in part painted blue ; those of the colonnade 
were origiaally Doric, but afterwards altered to Corinthian, 
varying in detail, very ill designed, and badly executed. A 
perforation has been made in one of the latter to receive a 
pipe, through which water for the sacrifices flowed into a 
basin placed upon a circular fluted pedestal. The lower 
third of them is painted yellow, the rest is white. The 
details, or characteristic ornaments of the original Doric 
order, are added with tiles and stucco, and the surface of 
the architrave is painted with an endless variety of orna- 
ment. Both a consular and a terminal figure were found 
here, and it has been supposed that one of the latter was 




Terminal figure in the temple of Venus. 



TEMPLE OF POMPEII. 



149 




Dwarfs, from a painting at Pompeii. 



placed before each column of the colonnade. Channels 
were formed round the area, under the cornice of this 
colonnade, to carry off the water from the roof, which in- 
clined inwards like a shed. The ascent to the cell of the 
temple was by a flight of steps, on each side of which were 
pedestals ; near one of them lies an Ionic votive column, 
with a tablet carved in relief upon its shaft, meant to re- 
ceive the inscription, stating by whom, and on what occa- 
sion it was consecrated. The cell had a pilaster at each 
of the external angles, and the walls were stuccoed in imi- 
tation of masonry. In front of the steps was the great 
altar : a piece of black stone placed upon it has three re- 
ceptacles for fire, on which the ashes of the victims were 
found. An inscription on the east side, which is repeated 
on the west, records that the Quartumviri, M. POR- 
CIUS, L. SEXTILIUS, CN. CORNELIUS, and 
A. CORNELIUS, erected the altar at their own ex- 
pense. The walls under the colonnade are painted in vivid 
colours, principally on a black ground, representing land- 
scapes, country-houses, and interiors of rooms with figures. 
The groups of figures consist of dancers, sacrificers to 
Priapus, battles with crocodiles, &c ; one represents 
Hector tied to the car of Achilles, another the dispute 
between Achilles and Agamemnon, and near the ground 
is a long series of dwarfish figures. In the apartment of 
the priest was found a very beautiful painting of Bacchus 
and Silenus. This had been removed by the ancients 
from some other place, and carefully fastened with iron 
cramps and cement in its present situation. In a recess, 
13* 



150 



FOMPEir. 




Painting of Bacchus and Silenus, in the apartment of the priest in the temple 
of Venus. 

at the north-east end of the temple, under the colonnade 
of the Forum, stood the public measures for wine, oil, and 
grain. These consist of nine cylindrical holes cut in an 
oblong block of tufa ; there are five large for grain, and 
four smaller for wine : the former had a sliding bottom, that 
the grain when measured might be easily removed. The 
latter are provided with tubes to draw off the liquid. 
These measures are placed near what we have already 
supposed to be the horrea, or public granaries. 

Having thus completed the circuit of the Forum, it 
only remains to mention a few less important matters. 
A. portico, as we have often had occasion to mention, sur- 
rounds three sides of this space ; we now will speak more 
particularly of its construction. The columns are twelve 
feet high, and two feet three inches and a half in diameter ; 
they were set araeostyle, about three and a half diameters, 
or eight feet six inches apart. It has been already men- 
tioned as an objection to this width of intercolumniation, 
that, except where masses of stone of unusual size could 
be commanded, the architraves were necessarily either flat 
arches, or beams of wood. (6) Here the latter material 
was used, and a stone entablature (d) raised upon it, as 



DESCRIPTION OF FORUM. 



151 




Construction in wood and stone of the arseostyle portico of the Forum. 

represented in the annexed engraving. Above this, there 
probably was a gallery ; ^ such at least, we learn from 
Vitruvius, was the general practice ; and this gallery was 
usually appropriated to the use of those who had the man- 
agement of the public revenue. 

The area of the Forum was adorned with pedestals, 
for the statues of those who merited or could procure this 
distinction. Some are of the proportion adapted to eques- 
trian statues. They are all of white marble, ornamented 
with a Doric frieze ; and appear to have been still in pro- 
cess of erection, to replace an older set of pedestals, at the 
time when Pompeii was destroyed. At the south end is a 
small isolated arch,;on which possibly the tutelary, genius 
of the city might have been placed. Such was the con- 
struction of a Roman forum ; the reader will not be at a 
loss to appreciate its combined utility and magnificence. 
Some surprise may be felt at the expense lavished so prod- 
igally on public buildings in an inconsiderable town. But 
the Romans lived in public, and depended on the public for 
their amusements and pleasure. ' A Roman citizen,' says 



* In the holes at c the joists of the floor of the upper gallery were 
most probably fixed. 



152 POMPEII 

M. Simond, ' went out early, and did not return home until 
the evening repast ; he spent his day in the forum, at the 
baths, at the theatre, — every where, in short, except at 
his own home, where he slept in a small room, without 
windows, without a chimney, and almost without furniture.' 
Architectural splendour, therefore, both in places of pub- 
lic business and of public pleasure, was far more studied 
and of far greater importance than it now is : and money, 
both public and private, was lavished upon such purposes 
with a profuseness far more than commensurate, according 
to modern notions, with the objects to which it was direct- 
ed. We may add, to explain the motives which induced 
individuals to bestow their money so freely in increasing 
the splendour of their city, that there was no surer road 
to power and influence, either in the capital, or in the smal- 
ler sphere of a provincial town, than by gratifying the taste 
of the people for splendour, either in public buildings, or 
in the amusements of the stage or the amphitheatre. 

The architecture of Pompeii is not always in the best 
taste ; yet there is much to admire in it, both for the design 
and the execution. The restoration of the Forum, which 
forms the frontispiece to this volume, will convey to the 
reader some idea at once of the artificial and natural beau- 
ties of that city. 




Male Centaur and Bacchante. 




Female Centaur and Bacchante. 



CHAPTER VII. 

BATHS EXCAVATED IN THE YEAR 1824. 

After the excavations at Pompeii had been carried on 
to a considerable extent^ it was matter of surprise that no 
public baths were discovered, particularly as they were 
sure almost to be placed in the most frequented situation, 
and therefore probably somewhere close to the Forum. 
The wonder was increased by the small number of baths 
found in private houses. That public baths existed, was 
long ago ascertained from an inscription discovered in 1749, 
purporting that one Januarius, an enfranchised slave, sup- 
plied the baths of Marcus Crassus Frugi with water, both 
fresh and salt. At length an excavation, in the vicinity of 
the Forum, brought to light a suite of public baths, admi- 
rably arranged, spacious, highly decorated, and superior 
to any even in the most considerable of our modern cities. 



154 



POMPEII. 




They are fortunately in good preservation, and throw much 
light on what the ancients, and especially Vitruvius, have 
written on the subject. 



BATHS. 156 

Inscription in the Court of the Baths. 

DEDIC ATONE . THERMARUM . MUNERIS . CNiEI . 

ALLEI . NIGIDII. . MAII . VENATIO . ATHLET^E . 

SPARSIONES . VELA . ERUNT . MAIO . 

PRINCIPI . COLONIZE . FELICITER. 

Fac-simile of the above inscription. 



DH)ICXri0WEgs ., 



marm 



* On occasion of the dedication of the baths, at the expense of 
Cnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius, there will be the chase of wild 
beasts, athletic contests, sprinkling of perfumes, and an awning. 
Prosperity to Maius, chief of the colony. ' 

This announcement of a public entertainment is written 
on a wall of the court of the baths, to the right hand on 
entering. 

The provincial towns, imitating the example of Rome, 
and equally fond of all sort of theatrical and gladiatorial 
exhibitions of which we shall hereafter speak at length in 
describing the various theatres of Pompeii, usually solem- 
nized the completion of any edifices or monuments erected 
for the public service by dedicating them. This ceremony 
was nothing more than opening or exhibiting the building 
to the people in a solemn manner ; gratifying them, at the 
same time, with largesses and various spectacles. When 
a private man had erected the building, he himself was usu- 
ally the person who dedicated it. When undertaken by 
the public order, and at the public cost, the citizens de- 
puted some magistrate, or rich and popular person, to per- 
form the ceremony. In the capital vast sums were expend- 
ed in this manner, and a man who aspired to become a 
popular leader, could scarcely lay out his money to better 



156 POMPEII. 

interest than in courting favour by the prodigality of his 
expenses on these or similar occasions. It appears, then, 
that upon the completion of the baths, the Pompeians com- 
mitted the dedication to Cnseus Alleius Nigidius Maius, 
who entertained them with a sumptuous spectacle. There 
were combats (venatio) between wild beasts, or between 
beasts and men, a cruel sport, to which the Romans were 
passionately addicted; athletic games (athletce)] sprinkling 
of perfumes {sparsiones) ; and it was farther engaged that 
an awning should be raised over the amphitheatre. The 
convenience of such a covering will be evident, no less as 
a protection against sun than rain, under an Italian sky ; 
the merit of the promise, which may seem but a trifle, will 
be understood by considering the difficulty of stretching 
a covering over the immense area of an ancient amphi- 
theatre. We may observe, by the way, that representa- 
tions of hunting, and of combats between wild beasts, are 
common subjects of the paintings of Pompeii. A combat 
between a lion and a horse, and another, between a bear 
and a bull, have been found in the amphitheatre. The 
velarium, or awning, is advertised in all the inscriptions 
yet found, which give notice of public games. Athletae 
and sparsiones appear in no other. We learn from Seneca, 
that the perfumes were disseminated by being mixed with 
boiling water, and then placed in the centre of the amphi- 
theatre, so that the scents rose with the steam, and soon 
became diffused throughout the building. There is some 
reason to suppose that the completion and dedication of 
the baths preceded the destruction of the city but a short 
time, from the inscription being found perfect on the wall 
of the baths ; for it was the custom to write these notices 
in the most public places ; and after a very short season 
they were covered over by others, as one bill-sticker de- 
faces the labours of his predecessors. This is abundantly 
evident even in the present ruined state of the town, espe- 



BATHS, 



157 



cially at the corners of the principal streets, where it is 
easy to discover one inscription painted over another. But 
to return to the Baths : they occupy a space of about a 
hundred square feet, and are divided into three separate 
and distinct compartments. One of these was appropriated 
to the fireplaces and to the servants of the estabUshments; 
the other two were occupied each by a set of baths, conti- 
guous to each other, similar and adapted to the same pur- 
poses, and supplied with heat and water from the same fur- 
nace and from the same reservoir. The apartments and 
passages are paved with white marble in mosaic. It is 
conjectured that the most spacious of them was for the use 




Plan of the Batlis. 



14 



158 POMPEII. 

of the men, the lesser for that of the women. It appears, 
from Varro and Vitruvius, that baths for men and women 
were originally united, as well for convenience as economy 
of fuel, but were separated afterwards for the preservation 
of morals, and had no communication except that from the 
furnaces. 

The Piscina, or reservoir, is separated from the baths 
themselves by the street (W), which opens into the Forum. 
The pipes which communicated between the reservoir and 
the bath passed over an arch (w) thrown across the street. 
This arch was perfect when the excavation was made ; 
now only the shoulders remain, in which the pipes above- 
mentioned are still visible. There were three entrances 
to the furnaces which heated the warm and vapour baths. 
The chief one opened upon a court (r), of an irregular fig- 
ure, fit for containing wood and other necessaries for the 
use of the establishment, covered in part by a roof, the 
raflers of which rested at one end on the lateral walls, and 
at the other on two columns, constructed with small pieces 
of stone. From hence a very small staircase led to the 
furnaces and to the upper part of the baths. Another en- 
trance led to a small room (/?) {prodfurnium^) into which 
projects the mouth of a furnace (i.) In this room were 
the attendants on the furnace, or stokers (fornacmiiy) 
whose duty it was to keep up the fires. Here was found 
a quantity of pitch, used by the furnace-men to enUven the 
fires. The stairs in the room (h) led up to the coppers. 
The third entrance led from the apodyterium of the men's 
baths by means of a corridor (x). It is to be remarked 
that there is no communication between these furnaces and 
the bath of the women, which was heated from them. The 
furnace was round, and had in the lower part of it two pipes, 
which transmitted hot air under the pavements and between 
the walls of the vapour-baths, which were built hollow for 
that purpose. Close to the furnace, at the distance of four 
inches, a round vacant space still remains, in which was 



t 



BATHS, 169 

placed the copper (caldarium) for boiling water ; near 
which, with the same interval between them, was situated 
the copper for warm water {tepidarium) ; and at the dis- 
tance of two feet from this was the receptacle (k) for cold 
water (frigidarium^) which was square, and plastered 
round the interior like the piscina or reservoir before- 
mentioned. A constant communication was maintained 
between these vessels, so that as fast as hot water was 
drawn off from the caldarium, the void was suppUed from 
the tepidarium, which being already considerably heated, 
did but slightly reduce the temperature of the hotter boiler. 
The tepidarium, in its turn, was supplied from the piscina, 
and that from the aqueduct ; so that the heat which was 
not taken up by the first boiler passed on to the second, 
and instead of being wasted, did its office in preparing the 
contents of the second for the higher temperature which it 
was to obtain in the first. It is but lately that this princi- 
ple has been introduced into modern furnaces, but its use 
in reducing the consumption of fuel is well known. It is 
necessary to apprise the reader that the terms frigidarium, 
tepidarium, and caldarium, are applied to the apartments 
in which the cold, tepid, and hot baths are placed, as well 
as to those vessels in which the operation of heating the 
water is carried on. The furnace and the coppers were 
placed between the men's baths and the women's baths, 
as near as possible to both, to avoid the waste of heat con- 
sequent on transmitting the heated fluids through a length 
of pipe. The coppers and reservoir were elevated consid- 
erably above the baths, to cause the water to flow more 
rapidly into them. 

The men's baths had three public entrances (a, o, and 
p). Entering at the principal one (p), which opens to 
the street leading to the Forum, we descend three steps 
into (in) the vestibule, cortile, or portico of the baths, along 
three sides of which runs a portico {ambulacrum). The 
seats which are to be seen arranged round the walls were 



160 



POMPEII. 



for the slaves who accv-^mpanied their masters to the baths, 
and for the servants of the baths themselves, to whom also 
the apartment {I) appears to have been appropriated, 
which opens on the court, but extends backward fronj it. 
In this court was found a sword with a leather sheath, and 




BATHS. 161 

the box for the quadrans, or piece of money which was 
paid by each visitor. It is probable that the sword be- 
longed to the balneator or keeper of the Thermse. The 
door (o) which opens on the street where the temple of 
Fortune is situated, leads also into the same vestibule. 
By means of a corridor, we proceed through the passage 
(2) into the apodyterium, or undressing-room (6), which 
is also accessible by the corridor (a) from the street now 
called the Street of the Arch. In this corridor alone 
were found upwards of five hundred lamps, and upwards 
of a thousand were discovered in various parts of the baths 
during the excavations. Of these the best were selected, 
and the workmen were ordered to destroy the remainder. 
The greater number were of terra-cotta, some had an im- 
pression of the graces on them, and others the figure of 
Harpocrates, — both of inferior execution. The ceiling 
of this passage is decorated with stars. The apodyterium 
has three seats, marked (6, d) in the preceding and the fol- 
lowing section, made of lava, with a step to place the feet 
on. Holes (a) still remain in the wall, in which pegs 
were fixed, for the bathers to hang up their clothes. This 
chamber is stuccoed from the cornice to the ground ; it is 
highly finished, and coloured yellow. The cornice is of 
large dimensions, and has something of an Egyptian char- 
acter ; below it is carved a frieze, composed of lyres, dol- 
phins, chimerse, and vases, in relief, upon a red ground. 




Ornamented frieze in the Apodyterium. 



In the centre of the end of the room is a very small open- 
ing or recess (c), once covered with a piece of glass : in 
this recess, as is plain from its smokiness, a lamp has been 

14* 



162 



POMPEII. 



placed. In the archivolt, or vaulted roof^ immediately over 
(c) is a window (e) two feet eight inches high and three 
feet eight inches broad, closed by a single large pane of 
cast glass, two-fifths of an inch thick, fixed into the v>^all, 
and ground on one side to prevent persons on the roof from 
looking into the bath : of this glass many fragments were 
found in the ruins. This is an evident proof that glass 
windows were in use among the ancients. The learned 
seem to have been generally mistaken on the subject of 




^ 



BATHS. 163 

glass-making among the ancients, who seem to have been 
far more skilful than had been imagined. The vast col- 
lection of bottles, vases, glasses, and other utensils, dis- 
covered at Pompeii, is sufficient to show that the ancients 
were well acquainted with the art of glass-blowing. Un- 
derneath, a large mask is moulded in stucco, with curHng 
hair and a most venerable floating beard. Water is sculp- 



Transverse section of the Apodyterium. 

tured flowing from the locks of hair, and on each side two 
Tritons, with vases on their shoulders, are fighting ; there 
are also dolphins, who encircle with their tails the figures 
of children struggling to disengage themselves. All these 
are ornaments appropriate to baths, and of a whimsical in- 
vention to symbolize water and bathing. The floor is paved 
with white marble worked in mosaic, and the ceiling appears 
to have been divided into white panels within red borders. 
It has six doors : one leads to the praefurnium ; (h) another 
into the small room, perhaps destined for a wardrobe ; the 
third, by a narrow passage {a) to the Street of the Arch ; 
the fourth to the tepidarium ; {d) the fifth to the frigidari- 
um ; (c) and the sixth along the corridor (2) to the vestibule 
or portico of the bath. 

The frigidarium, (c) or cold bath, is a round chamber, 
encrusted with yellow stucco, with indications here and 



164 



POMPEII. 



there of green, with a ceilmg in the form of a truncated 
cone, which appears to have been painted blue. Near 
the top is a window, (/) from whence it was lighted. In 
the cornice, which is coloured red, is modelled in stucco a 
chariot-race of cupids, preceded by cupids on horseback 
and on foot. 




Chariot race of Cupids in the FrigJdariura. 




The plinth or base of the wall is entirely of marble. 
The entrance is by the undressing-room. There are four 
niches, {gg) disposed at equal distances, painted red above 
and blue below. In these niches were seats (scholge) for 
the convenience of the bathers. The basin (alveus) is 
twelve feet ten inches in diameter, and two feet nine inches 



BATHS. 



165 




deep, and is entirely lined with white marble. Two mar- 
ble steps facilitate the descent into it, and at the bottom is 
a sort of cushion (pulvinus), also of marble, to enable 
those who bathed to sit down. The water ran into this 



166 POMPEII. 

bath in a large stream, through a spout or lip of bronze 
four inches wide, placed in the wall at the height of three 
feet seven inches from the edge of the basin. At the bot- 
tom is a small outlet, for the purpose of emptying and clean- 
sing it ; and in the rim there is a waste-pipe, to carry off 
the superfluous water. This frigidarium is remarkable for 
its preservation and beauty. 

The tepidarium, {d) or warm chamber, was so called 
from a warm, but soft and mild temperature, which prepar- 
ed the bodies of the bathers for the more intense heat which 
they were to undergo in the vapour and hot baths ; and, 
vice versdy softened the transition from the hot bath to the 
external air. It is divided into a number of niches, or 
compartments, by Telamones,^ two feet high, carved in 
high relief, placed against the walls, and supporting a rich 
cornice. These are male, as Cariatides are female sta- 
tues, placed to perform the office of pillars. By the 
Greeks they vt^ere named Atlantes, from the well-known 
fable of Atlas supporting the heavens. Here they are 
made of terra-cotta, or baked clay, incrusted with the finest 
marble stucco. Their only covering is a girdle round the 
loins ; they have been painted flesh-colour, with black hair 
and beards ; the moulding of the pedestal, and the basket 
on their heads, were in imitation of gold ; and the pedestal 
itself, as well as the wall behind them and the niches for 
the reception of the clothes of the bathers, was coloured 
to resemble red porphyry. Six of these niches are closed 
up, without any apparent reason. 

The ceiling is worked in stucco, in low relief, with scat- 
tered figures and ornaments of little flying genii, delicately 
relieved on medallions, with foliage carved round them- 
The ground is painted, sometimes red and sometimes blue. 
The room was lighted by a window two feet six inches 

* So called from the Greek T;i«v:t/, to endure. The etymology 
of Atlas is the same. 



BATHS. 



167 




C 



high, and three feet wide, in the bronze frame of which 
were found set four very beautiful panes of glass fastened 
by sniall nuts and screws, very ingeniously contrived, with 
a view to their being able to remove the glass at pleasure. 
In it was found a brazier, seven feet long and two feet six 



168 



POMPEII. 



inches broad, made entirely of bronze, with the exception 
of an iron lining ; the two front legs are winged sphinxes, 
terminating in lion's paws ; the two other legs are plain, 
being intended to stand against the wall. The bottom is 




Brazier in the Tepidarium. 

formed with bronze bars on which are laid bricks support- 
ing pumice-stones for the reception of charcoal. There 
is a sort of false battlement worked on the rim^ and in the 
middle a cow to be seen in high relief. Three bronze 
benches also were found, alike in form and pattern They 
are one foot four inches high, one foot in width, and about 




One of the three bronze seats found in the Tepidarium. 



six feet long, supported by four legs, terminating in the 
cloven hoofs of a cow, and ornamented at the upper ends 
with the heads of the same animal. Upon the seat is 
inscribed, M. NIGIDIUS. VACCULA. P. S. Varro, 
in his book upon rural affairs, tells us that many of the sur- 
names of the Roman families had their origin in pastoral 
life ; and especially are derived from the animals to whose 
breeding they paid most attention. As, for instance, the 



BATHS. 



169 



Porcii took their name from their occupation as swine- 
herds ; the Ovini from their care of sheep ; the Caprilli, 
of goats ; the Eqimrii, of horses ; the Tauri, of bulls, &c. 
We may conclude, therefore, that the family of this Mar- 
cus Vaccula were originally cowkeepers, and that the 
figures of cows so plentifully impressed on all the articles 




no POMPEII. 

which he presented to the baths, are a sort of canting arms, 
to borrow an expression from heraldry, as in Rome the 
family Toria caused a bull to be stamped on their money. 
A doorway led from the tepidarium into the caldarium, 
or vapour-bath. It had on one side the laconicum, were 
a vase (c) for washing the hands and face was placed, 
called labrum. On the opposite side of the room was the 
hot-bath (q) called lavacrum. Here it is necessary to 
refer to the words of Vitruvius as explanatory of the struc- 
ture of the apartments, (cap. xi, lib. v). ^ Here should 
be placed the vaulted sweating-room, twice the length of 
its width, which should have at each extremity, on one end 
the laconicum, made as described above, on the other end 
the hot-bath.' This apartment is exactly as described, 
twice the length of its width, exclusively of the laconicum 
at one end and the hot-bath at the other. The pavement 
and walls of the whole were hollowed to admit the heat. 
Vitruvius never mentions the laconicum as being separated 
from the vapour-bath ; it may, therefore, be presumed to 
have been always connected with it in his time, although 
in the Thermae constructed by the later emperors it ap- 
pears always to have formed a separate apartment. In 
the baths of Pompeii they are united, and adjoin the tepi- 
darium, exactly agreeing with the descriptions of Vitruvius. 
The laconicum is a large semicircular niche, seven feet 
wide, and three feet six inches deep, in the middle of which 
was placed a vase or labrum. The ceiling was formed by 
a quarter of a sphere ; it had on one side a circular open- 
ing (a), one foot six inches in diameter, over which, ac- 
cording to Vitruvius, a shield of bronze was suspended, 
which, by means of a chain attached to it, could be drawn 
over or drawn aside from the aperture, and thus regulated 
the temperature of the bath. Where the ceiling of the 
laconicum joined the ceiUng of the vapour-bath, there 
was, immediately over the centre of the vase or labrum, a 
window (g"), three feet five inches wide ; and there were 



BATHS. 171 

two square lateral windows in the ceiling of the vapour- 
bath, one foot four inches wide and one foot high, from 
which the light fell perpendicularly on the iabrum, as re- 
commended by Vitruvius, ^ that the shadows of those who 
surrounded it might not be thrown upon the vessel. ' 

The labrum (c) was a great basin or round vase of white 
marble, rather more than five feet in diameter, into which 
the hot water bubbled up through a pipe (6) in its centre, 
and served for the partial ablutions of those who took the 
vapour-bath. It was raised about three feet six inches 
above the level of the pavement on a round base built of 
small pieces of stone or lava, stuccoed and coloured red, 
five feet six inches in diameter, and has within it a bronze 
inscription, which runs thus : 

GNiEO . MELISSiEO . GN^I . FILIO . APRO . MARCO . 
STAIO . MARCl . FILIO . RUFO . DUUMVIRIS . ITERUM. 
lURE . DICUNDO . LABRUM . EX DECURIONUM DE CRE- 
TO . EX. PECUNIA . PUBLICA . FACIENDUM . CURARUNT . 
CONSTAT . SESTERTIUM . D.C.C.L. 

Relating that ^ Gnseus Melissseus Aper, son of Gnseus 
Aper, Marcus Staius Rufus, son of M. Rufus, duumvirs 
of justice for the second time, caused the labrum to be 
made at the public expense, by order of the Decurions.' 
It cost 750 sesterces, about 6/.^ There is in the Vati- 
can a magnificent porphyry labrum found in one of the 
imperial baths ; and Baccius, a great modern authority 
on baths, speaks of labra made of glass. 

This apartment, like the others, is well stuccoed, and 
painted yellow ; a cornice, highly enriched with stucco 
ornaments, is supported by fluted pilasters placed at irreg- 
ular intervals. These are red, as is also the cornice and 
ceiling of the laconicum, which is worked in stucco with 
little figures of boys and animals. The ceiling of the room 
itself was entirely carved with transverse fluting, like that 

* Museum Borbonicum, vol. il 



172 



POMPEII. 




Part of the ceiling of the Caldarium. 



of enriched columns, a beautiful ornament, and one but 
little used for this purpose ; no other instance occurring 
except in certain ruins of villas on the shores of Castel- 
lone, the ancient Formise. The hot-bath (/ on the plan) 
occupied the whole end of the room opposite to the laco- 
nicum and next to the furnace. It was four feet four in- 
ches wide, twelve feet long, and one foot eight inches deep, 
constructed entirely of marble, with only one pipe to intro- 
duce the water, and was elevated two steps above the floor; 
while a single step let down into the bath itself, forming 
a continuous bench round it for the convenience of the 
bathers. 

The Romans, who, according to Vitruvius, called their 
vapour-baths caldaria or sudationes concameratae, con- 
structed them with suspended or hollow floors and with 
hollow walls* (d), communicating with the furnace, that 
the smoke and hot air might be spread over a large surface 
and readily raise them to the required warmth. The tem- 
perature was regulated by the clypeus or bronze shield al- 
ready described. 

In the Pompeian bath the hollow floors are thus con- 
structed. Upon a floor of cement made of lime and pound- 
ed bricks, were built small brick pillars (o), nine inches 
square, and one foot seven inches high, supporting strong 
tiles fifteen inches square. The pavement was laid on 

* The Italians call these floors vespajo, from their resemblance 
to a wasp's nest. 



BATHS. 173 

these, and incrusted with mosaic. The hollow walls, the 
void spaces of which communicated with the vacuum of 
the suspended pavement, were constructed in the following 
manner. Upon the walls, solidly stuccoed, large square 
tiles were fastened by means of iron cramps. They were 
made in a curious manner. While the clay was moist some 
circular instrument was pushed through it, so as to make a 
hole, at the same time forcing out the clay and making a 
projection or pipe about three inches long, on the inside of 
the tile. These being made at the four corners, iron clamps 
passed through them and fastened them to the wall, the 
interval being regulated by the length of the projections. 
The sides of the apartments being thus formed, were after- 
wards carefully stuccoed and painted. The vacancy in 
the walls of the Pompeian baths reaches as high as the 
top of the cornice, but the ceilings are not hollow, as in 
the baths which Vitruvius described, and which he distin- 
guishes for that reason by the name of concamerat^. The 
following wood-cuts will convey an idea of the style of or- 
nament which is lavished upon the ceilings of the apart- 
ments which we have just described. The first is a winged 
child or genius, riding on one sea-horse and accompanied 
by another, preceded by a similar child guiding two dol- 
phins. This occupies the centre of the ceiling of the te- 
pidarium. Other ornaments are dispersed around it, from 
which we have selected some of those that are best pre- 
served. The design is generally better than the workman- 
ship, for they have not been carefully finished, on account, 
perhaps, of the height at which they were to be placed. A 
curious piece of economy is visible in these decorations. 
Those low down on the walls are executed in relief, but 
the higher ones are painted as it were in a very liquid 
stucco ; so that the child who sounds a cymbal (see next 
page) in one of the medallions, has one leg, one arm, 
and the head of stucco, while the wings, the other leg, 
and the cymbal, which, if also executed in stucco, would 
15* 



174 



POMPEII. 




BATHS. 



175 





Ornaments of the Tepidarium. * 

have been in lower relief, are either laid on with a brush 
in this liquid stucco, or left white when the ground was 
painted. It is so done, that at a certain distance, and to 
one who does not consider it with nicety, the whole ap- 
pears to be relieved. The same is to be observed in the 
bow, which has the two ends formed of goats' heads. 

The women's bath resembles very much that of the men, 
and differs only in being smaller and less ornamented. It 
is heated, as we have already mentioned, by the same fire, 
and supplied with water from the same boilers. Near the 
entrance is an inscription painted in red letters. All the 
rooms yet retain in perfection their vaulted roofs. In the 
vestibule {v) are seats similar to those which have been 
described in the men's baths as appropriated to slaves or 
servants of the establishment. The robing-room {t) con- 
tains a cold-bath ; is painted, with red and yellow pilas- 
ters alternating with one another, on a blue or black ground, 

* The latter ornament has been employed with success by the 
King's architect at Naples, in the vaulted ceiling of a ball-room. 



176 POMPEII. 

and has a light cornice of white stucco, and a white mosaic 
pavement with a narrow black border. There is accom- 
modation for ten persons to undress at the same time. The 
cold-bath is much damaged, the wall only remaining of 
the alveus, which is square, the whole incrustation of mar- 
ble being destroyed. From this room we pass into the te- 
pidarium (s), about twenty feet square, painted yellow, 
with red pilasters, lighted by a small window far from the 
ground. This apartment communicates with the warm- 
bath (w), which, like the men's, is heated by flues formed 
in the floors and walls. There are in this room paintings 
of grotesque design upon a yellow ground ; but they are 
much damaged, and scarcely visible. The pavement is of 
white marble laid in mosaic. The room {u) in its general 
arrangement resembles the hot-bath of the men ; it has a 
labrum {y) in the laconicum, and a hot-bath contiguous 
to the furnace, as may be seen by the plan. The hollow 
pavement and the flues in the walls are almost entirely 
destroyed ; and of the labrum, the foot, in the middle of 
which was a piece of the leaden conduit that introduced 
the water, alone remains. On the right of the entrance 
into these women's baths is a wall of stone of great thick- 
ness and in a good style of masonry. 

These baths are so well arranged, with so prudent an 
economy of room and convenient distribution of their parts, 
and are adorned with such appropriate elegance, as to 
show clearly the intellect and resources of an excellent 
architect. At the same time some errors of the grossest 
kind have been committed, such as would be inexcusable 
in the most ignorant workman ; as, for instance, the sym- 
metry of parts has been neglected, where the parts corre- 
spond ; a pilaster is cut ofl* by a door which passes through 
the middle of it : and other mistakes occur which might 
have been avoided without difficulty. This strange mixture 
of good and bad taste, of skill and carelessness, is not very 
easily accounted for, but it is of constant recurrence in 
Pompeii. 



BATHS. 177 

Vitruvius recommends the selecting a situation for baths 
defended from the north and north-west winds, and forming 
windows opposite the south, or if the nature of the ground 
would not permit this, at least towards the south, because 
the hours of bathing used by the ancients being from after 
mid-day till evening, those who bathed could, by those win- 
dows, have the advantage of the rays and of the heat of 
the declining sun. For this reason the Pompeian baths 
hitherto described have the greater part of their windows 
turned to the south, and are constructed in a low part of 
the city, where the adjoining buildings served as a pro- 
tection to them from the inconvenience of the north-west 
winds. 

Having thus minutely described the baths, as they exist 
at Pompeii, we shall proceed to consider the subject more 
generally, and give some account of those far more splendid 
edifices which were constructed in the great cities of the 
empire, and especially in Rome itself The subject is one 
of considerable interest, for it is intimately connected with 
ancient manners ; and an acquaintance with it will explain 
very many passages in the Latin authors. To them and 
to their countrymen the bath was a daily necessary, rather 
than a luxury, though it was combined with luxury to the 
greatest possible extent. In the magnificent Thermae * 
erected by the emperors, edifices in which architectural 
magnificence appears to have been carried to its extreme 
point, not only was accommodation provided for hundreds 
of bathers at once, but spacious porticoes, rooms for ath- 
letic games and playing at ball, and halls for the public 
lectures of philosophers and rhetoricians were added one 
to another, to an extent which has caused them, by a strong 
figure, to be compared to provinces, and at an expense 

* 06g|Uflt/, hot springs, so named because they were principally 
constructed with a view to warm bathing, though furnished with 
cold baths also. 



178 POMPEII. 

which could only have been supported by the inexhaustible 
treasures which Rome drew from a subject world. There 
were many of these establishments at Rome, built mostly 
by the emperors^ for few private fortunes could suffice to 
so vast a charge. They were open to the public at first 
on the payment of the fourth of an as {quadrans)^ which 
is less than a farthing. Agrippa bequeathed his gardens 
and baths to the Roman people, and assigned particular 
estates for their support, that the public might enjoy them 
gratuitously. The splendid edifice now known as the 
Pantheon, served as the vestibule to his baths. At a later 
period the bathers in some Thermae were supplied gratui- 
tously even with unguents ; probably it was so in all those 
built by the Emperors. The chief were those of Agrippa, 
Nero, Titus, Domitian, Antoninus Caracalla, and Diocle- 
tian; but Ammianus Marcellinus reckons sixteen of them, 
and other authors eighty. 

These edifices, differing of course in magnitude and 
splendour, and the details of the arrangement, were all 
constructed on a common plan. They stood among exten- 
sive gardens and walks, and often were surrounded by a 
portico. The main building contained extensive halls for 
swimming and bathing ; others for conversation ; others 
for various athletic and manly exercises ; others for the 
declamation of poets and the lectures of philosophers; in a 
word, for every species of polite and manly amusement. 
These noble rooms were lined and paved with marble, 
adorned wiA the most valuable columns, paintings and 
statues, andTurnished with collections of books for the 
sake of the studious who resorted to them.^ Their costly 
decorations have long vanished, and the gradual accumu- 
lation of earth and ruins has choked up the vaults, and 
buried the floors ; yet enough still remains to enable us to 

* We are told that the Ulpian library, founded by Trajan, was 
afterwards transferred to the baths of Diocletian. 



BATHS. 179 

trace the general distribution of their parts with tolerable 
accuracy, and to intimate that the descriptions of ancient 
writers are not exaggerated. Those in the best preser- 
vation are the baths of Titus, Antoninus Caracalla, and 
Diocletian. Their present state is thus described by an 
eloquent modern writer : — ^ Repassing the Aventine hill, 
we came to the baths of Antoninus Caracalla, that occupy 
part of its declivity, and a considerable portion of the plain 
between it, Mons Coeliolus, and Mons Ccelius. No monu- 
ment of ancient architecture is calculated to inspire such 
an exalted idea of Roman magnificence, as the ruins of 
their Thermae or baths. Many remain in a greater or less 
degree of preservation, such as those of Titus, Diocletian, 
and Caracalla. To give the untravelled reader some no- 
tion of these prodigious piles, I will confine my observa- 
tions to the latter, as the greatest in extent, and as the 
best preserved ; for though it be entirely stripped of its 
pillars, statues, and ornaments, both internal and external, 
yet its walls still stand, and its constituent parts and prin- 
cipal apartments are evidently distinguishable. The length 
of the Thermae was 1840 feet, its breadth 1476. At each 
end were two temples, one to Apollo, and another to 
^sculapius, as the tutelary deities {genii tiitelares) of a 
place sacred to the improvement of the mind, and the care 
of the body. The two other temples were dedicated to 
the two protecting divinities of the Antonine family, Her- 
cules and Bacchus. In the principal building were, in 
the first place, a grand circular vestibule, with four halls 
on each side, for cold, tepid, warm, and steam baths : in 
the centre was an immense square for exercise, when the 
weather was unfavourable to it in the open air ; beyond it 
a great hall, where 1600 marble seats were placed for the 
convenience of the bathers ; at each end of this hall were 
libraries. This building terminated on both sides in a 
court surrounded with porticoes, with an Odeum, for mu- 
sic, and in the middle a spacious basin for swimming. 



180 POMPEII. 

Round this edifice were walks shaded by rows of trees, 
particularly the plane ; and in its front extended a gymna- 
sium, for running, wrestling, &c, in fine weather. The 
whole was bounded by a vast portico opening into exedrae 
or spacious halls, where the poets declaimed and philoso- 
phers gave lectures to their auditors. This immense fa- 
bric was adorned within and without with pillars, stucco- 
work, paintings, and statues. The stucco and paintings, 
though faintly indeed, are yet in many places perceptible. 
Pillars have been dug up, and some still remain amidst the 
ruins ; while the Farnesian Bull, and the famous Her- 
cules, found in one of these halls, announce the multipli- 
city and beauty of the statues which once adorned the 
Thermse of Caracalla. The flues and reservoirs of water 
still remain. The height of the pile was proportioned to 
its extent, and still appears very considerable, even though 
the ground be raised at least twelve feet above its ancient 
level. It is now changed into gardens and vineyards, its 
high massive walls form separations, and its limy ruins, 
spread over the surface, burn the soil and check its na- 
tural fertility.' * 

' Proceeding over the Esquiline mount, we stopped at 
the Baths of Titus, an edifice once of unusual extent and 
magnificence, though on a smaller scale than the Thermee 
of Caracalla. Part of the theatre, of one of the temples, 
and one of the great halls, still remain above, and many 
vaults, long galleries, and spacious ruins, under ground. 
Some of these subterraneous apartments were curiously 
painted, and such is the firmness and consistency of the 
colours, that notwithstanding the dampness of the place, 
the lapse of so many ages, and the earth which has filled 
the vaults for so long a time, they still retain much of their 
original freshness. Many of the figures are scratched on 
the plaster, and supposed to have been so originally, to 

* Eustace, vol. i, p. 226. 



BATHS. 181 

imitate basso-relievo ; but on a close examination, the little 
nails, which fastened the gold, silver, and bronze that cov- 
ered these figures, are perceptible, and seem to prove that 
they were all originally coated over in a similar manner. 
Many of the paintings are arabesques, a fanciful style of 
ornament, observed on and reprobated as unnatural and 
ill-proportioned by Vitruvius, but revived and imitated by 
Raphael Titus's Baths are, as I have ob- 
served before, inferior in extent to those of Caracalla and 
Diocletian ; but, erected at a period when the arts still 
preserved their primeval perfection, they must have sur- 
passed all later edifices of the kind in symmetry, decora- 
tion, and furniture. Every person of taste must therefore 
lament that they are not cleared and opened. The famous 
group of Laocoon was found in an excavation made there 
not many years ago, and several pillars of granite, alabas- 
ter, and porphyry, have since been discovered in many 
partial researches. What precious remnants of ancient 
taste and magnificence might we find, if all the streets of 
this subterraneous city (for so these Thermae may be cal- 
led) were opened, and its recesses explored. At present, 
the curious visitor walks over heaps of rubbish, so high as 
almost to touch the vault, — so uneven, as to require all 
his attention at every step ; and whilst he examines the 
painted walls by the faint glare of a taper, he is soon oblig- 
ed by the closeness of the air to retire and content himself 
with a few cursory observations. To these baths belong 
the Sette Salle (seven halls), vast vaulted rooms of one 
hundred feet in length by fifteen in breadth and twenty in 
depth, intended originally as reservoirs to supply the baths, 
and occasionally the Coliseum, with water, when naval 

engagements were represented From the Es- 

quiline hill we passed to that elevated site which, as it ad- 
vances westward, branches into the Viminal and Quirinal 
hills. On it stands one of the grandest remains of ancient 
splendour, — a considerable portion of the baths of Diocle- 



182 POMPEII. 

tian, now converted into a convent of Carthusians. The 
principal hall is the church, and though four of the side 
recesses are filled up, and the two middle ones somewhat 
altered ; though its pavement has been raised about six 
feet to remove the dampness, and of course its proportions 
have been changed, it retains its length, its pillars, its cross- 
ribbed vault, and much of its original grandeur. It was 
paved and incrusted with the finest marble by Benedict 
XIV, who carried into execution the plan drawn up origi- 
nally by Michael Angelo, when it was first changed into 
a church. It is supported by eight pillars, forty feet in 
height and five in diameter, each of one vast piece of 
granite. The raising of the pavement, by taking six feet 
from the height of these pillars, has destroyed their propor- 
tion, and given them a very massive appearance. The 
length of the hall is three hundred and fifly feet, its 
breadth eighty, and its height ninety-six. Notwithstand- 
ing its magnificence, the mixture of Corinthian and Com- 
posite capitals shows how much the genuine taste of archi- 
tecture was on the decline in the time of Diocletian.'* 
The annexed plan, which comprises one half of the 
baths of A.ntoninus, will convey to the reader an idea of 
their general arrangement. 

* Eustace, vol. i, p. 231. 



BATHS. 



183 




Half of the plan of the baths of Antoninus Caracalla. 



A. A circular room called the Solar Cell, used to contain the numerous labra 
of the baths, 111 feet in diameter. Spartianus describes it thus: — * Caracalla 
l«ft magnificent Thermse, which went by his own name ; the solar cell of which 
could not be equalled by the best architects of that age. The window lattices 
are said to have been overlaid with brass or copper, of which materials the 
whole vault was made ; and so vast was its extent that learned mechanicians 
declare it impossible to make one like it.' 

B. The Apodyterium. 

C. Xystos, or portico, for the athletaB to exercise under in bad weather. 

D. Piscina, or large reservoir for swimming. 

E. Vestibule for spectators, and the clothes of those who were bathing. 

F. Vestibules on entering the Thermae : on each side were libraries. 
GG. Rooms where the athletaB prepared for their exercises. 

H. Peristyle, having in the middle a Piscina for bathing. 
I. Ephebium, or place for exercise. 
K. ElsBothesium, or room for oils- 
LL. Vestibules. 
M. Laconicum. 



184 POMPEII. 

N. Caldariura. 
O. Tepidarium. 
P. Frigidarium. 

Q, d Q,Cl. Various halls or recesses, for the use of those who frequented the 
baths. 
R. Exedrse, or large recesses, for the use of the philosophers. 
W. Rooms for conversation. 
Y. The Conisteriura. 

The other half of the building is exactly similar to this. 
An extensive enclosure surrounds the whole, in which are 
temples, a vast theatre, academies, numerous covered 
baths, for those who wished to bathe more privately ; and 
a variety of accommodations which we cannot particular- 
ize. In this enclosure, and at some distance from the main 
building, was the castellum, or furnace for heating the wa- 
ter, of which we shall speak largely hereafter. 

On entering the Thermae, where there was always a 
great concourse of people, the bathers first proceeded to 
undress, when it was necessary to hire persons to guard 
their clothes : these the Romans called Capsarii. They 
next went to the unctuarium, where they anointed all over 
with a coarse cheap oil before they began their exercise. 
Here the finer odoriferous ointments, which were used in 
coming out of the bath, were also kept, and the room was 
so situated as to receive a considerable degree of heat. 
This chamber of perfumes was quite full of pots like an 
apothecary's shop : and those who wished to anoint and 
perfume the body received perfumes and unguents. In 
a representation of a Roman bath, copied from a painting 
on a wall forming part of the baths of Titus, the elaeothe- 
sium appears filled with a vast number of vases. These 
vases contained perfumes and balsams, very different in 
their compositions, according to the different tastes of the 
persons who perfumed themselves. The rhodinum, one 
of those liquid perfumes, was composed of roses ; the liri- 
num of lily ; cyprinum of the flower of a tree called cypria, 
which is believed to be the same as the privet; baccarinum, 
from the foxglove ; myrrhinum was composed of myrrh. 



BATHS. 185 

Perfumes were also made of the oil of sweet marjoram 
called amaracinum ; of lavender, called nardinum ; of the 
wild vine, called senanthinum. There was also the cina- 
mominum, made of cinnamon, the composition of which 
was very costly ; oil made from the iris, called irinum ; the 
balaninum, or oil of ben ; the serpyllinum, wild thyme, 
with which they rubbed their eyebrows, hair, neck, and 
head ; they rubbed their arms with the oil of sisymbrium 
or watermint, and their muscles with the oil of anarcum, 
or others which have been mentioned. An amusing story 
relative to this practice of anointing is related by Spartia- 
nus. ' The Emperor Hadrian, who went to the public 
baths and bathed with the common people, seeing one day 
a veteran whom he had formerly known among the Ro- 
man troops, rubbing his back and other parts of his body 
against the marble, asked him why he did so. The veter- 
an answered that he had no slave to rub him, whereupon 
the Emperor gave him two slaves and wherewithal to 
maintain them. Another day several old men, enticed 
by the good fortune of the veteran, rubbed themselves also 
against the marble before the Emperor, believing by this 
means to excite the liberality of Hadrian, who perceiving 
their drift caused them to be told to rub each other.' 
When anointed, they immediately passed into the sphaeris- 
terium, a very light and extensive apartment, in which were 
performed the many kinds of exercises to which this third 
part of the baths was appropriated ; of these, the most fa- 
vourite was the ball. When its situation permitted, this 
apartment was exposed to the afternoon sun, otherwise it 
was supplied with heat from the furnace. Both Pliny and 
Lucian speak of this part of the baths as considerably 
warm at this time of day. After they had taken what 
degree of exercise they thought necessary, they went 
immediately to the adjoining warm bath, wherein they sat 
and washed themselves. The seat was below the surface 
of the water, and upon it they used to scrape themselves 
16^ 



186 



POMPEII. 






Strigiles. 

with instruments called strigiles, most usually of bronze, 
but sometimes of iron ; or this operation was performed 
by an attendant slave, much in the way that ostlers treat 
horses when they come in hot. It was not a very agree- 
able operation ; and Suetonius mentions that the Emperor 
Augustus was a sufferer by having been too roughly used. * 




Slave with a strigil, from an Etruscan vase. 



* The Turks use a sort of bag or glove of camel's hair, which 
without pain peels off the perspiration in large flakes, and leaves 
the skin in a most luxurious state of softness and polish. — Sir 
TV. Gell, 



BATHS. 1 87 

In the collection of Vases found lately on the estate of 
Lucien Bonaparte at Canino, there is one which exhibits 
the use of the strigil so plainly, that we shall describe it. 
The vase of which we speak is one of those large shallow 
cups commonly called tazze by the Italians. Both within 
and without there are paintings representing persons em- 
ployed in bathing and in the use of the strigil. Within, 
there are only two figures in the centre surrounded by a 
border, one of which standing upright stretches out one 
arm while he throws the other over his shoulder and rubs 
his back with his hand ; the other stoops a little forward, 
resting his body on one leg, and rubs his outstretched arm 
with the other hand. On the under-side of the vase there 
are ten figures of bathers, five on each side of the han- 
dles of the cup. The first is scraping his outstretched arm 
with a strigil, the second stands idle with one hand resting 
on his hip, the third is feeling the edge of a strigil with the 
finger of the other hand to ascertain its sharpness 5 from 
which we may infer that the instrument was by no means 
blunt. The fourth figure is scraping his throat. The 
fifth and last figure in the group stands with his strigil 
hanging in his hand, having to all appearance completed 
the operation. On the other side of the handles we are 
introduced to the bath-room, where those who have been 
scraped are being finally washed either by means of a small 
labrum on legs, or by having water poured over them. 
The bathers are represented with the attendants : one of 
the former stands with his arms folded ready to be washed, 
while another is on his knees receiving the water poured 
over him by an attendant from a vase or pitcher with a 
handle moveable like that of a pail. Two other figures 
stand near the labrum, apparently conversing. None of 
these figures have the strigil. There is also a long shal- 
low vase near the labrum, from which the attendants prob- 
ably supplied themselves with water, and not from the la- 
brum, which it is supposed was only used for the face. 
Thus we learn from the drawings on this vase, that the 



188 POMPEII. 

bathers used the strigils themselves, after which they rub- 
bed themselves with their hands, and then they were 
washed from head to foot, by pails or vases of water be- 
ing poured over them. * They were then carefully dried 
with cotton and linen cloths, and covered with a light 
shaggy mantle, called gausape. Effeminate persons had 
the hairs of their bodies pulled out with tweezers, when 




Tweezers. 



they were thoroughly dried, and their nails cut : young 
slaves then came out of the elgeothesium carrying with 
them little vases of alabaster, bronze, and terra-cotta, full 
of perfumed oils, with which they had their bodies anoint- 
ed, by causing the oil to be slightly rubbed over every 
part, even to the soles of their feet. After this, they 




Vases for perfumes. 

resumed their clothes. On quitting the warm bath they 
went into the tepidarium, and either passed very slowly 
through, or staid some time in it, that they might not too 
suddenly expose their bodies to the atmosphere in the 

* We regret that we caDnot give a drawing of these curious 
scenes from the jealousy of the proprietors, who are of opinion tha^ 
the publication by a drawing would injure their value ; the cut given 
has the same kind of strigil as the vases. 



BATHS. 189 

frigidarium ; for these last rooms appear to have been 
used chiefly to soften the transition from the intense heat of 
the caldarium to the open air. It does not appear that the 
water of either the tepidarium or frigidarium was used for 
bathing in these larger baths, although it probably was so 
used where the accommodation, as at Pompeii, was on a 
more contracted scale ; but merely as an easy means of 
keeping the rooms at the required temperature. 

The proper meaning of the word Laconicum has been 
much disputed. In describing the baths of Pompeii, we 
applied it, as the reader will remember, to a circular recess 
in the chamber which contained the warm bath ; in de- 
scribing the baths of the emperors, we have spoken of it 
as a separate chamber, highly heated, and intended to 
produce violent perspiration. 

The Marquis Galiani speaks of it in the following terms : 
^ The laconicum, as far as I know, has been, up to the 
present time, esteemed by all a great chamber, in which 
the people entered for the purpose of sweating.' Came- 
ron adds to this, ' I for myself hold it certain that the 
apartment for this purpose has been by some authors im- 
properly termed, — the laconicum is nothing more than a 
little cupola which covered an aperture in the pavement 
of the hot bath, through which the vivid flame of the hypo- 
caustum or furnace passed and heated the apartment at 
pleasure. Without this means the hot bath would not have 
had a greater heat than the other chambers, the tempera- 
ture of which was milder ; I have been induced to form 
this opinion, not only from the ancient paintings found in 
the baths of Titus, but also by the authority of Vitruvius, 
who says that the hot bath (concamerata sudatio) had 
within it, in one of the corners, or rather ends, the laco- 
nicum. Now if the laconicum was in the corner of the 
hot bath, it is clear that it is not the bath itself, but merely 
a part of it ; and if, as others have thought, it was the hot 
bath itself, to what purpose served the concamerata suda- 
tio ?' Probably an explanation of these inconsistencies 



190 



POMPEII. 




may be found in supposing the word to have been differ- 
ently used at different times. In the later baths, calculated 
for the accommodation of enormous numbers, it might be 
necessary to have a distinct room dedicated to a purpose 
for which a part of the hot bath was sufficient in the time 
of Vitruvius. The ancient painting above alluded to, dis- 
covered in the baths of Titus, in some degree corroborates 
the opinions of both Cameron and Galiani. It represents 
the several apartments which we have described ; but has 



BATHS. 191 

the bath in a chamber separate from the laconicum, or 
concamerata sudatio ; while at the same time the laco- 
nicum itself is represented as a small cupola^ as described 
by Cameron. And as the number of figures makes it 
evident that the painting is intended for a pubhc bath, we 
may draw from hence a further reason for supposing that 
the laconicum and hot bath itself (which Vitruvius calls 
concamerata sudatio) were separated in consequence of 
the increasing numbers who attended them. 

The Russian baths, as used by the common people, bear 
a close resemblance to the laconicum of the Romans. 
They usually consist of wooden houses, situated, if possi- 
ble, by the side of a running stream. In the bath-room 
is a large vaulted oven, which, when heated, makes the 
paving-stones lying upon it red hot ; and adjoining to the 
oven is a kettle fixed in masonry for the purpose of hold- 
ing boiling water. Round about the walls are three or four 
rows of benches one above another, like the seats of a 
scaffold. The room has little light, but here and there 
are apertures for letting the vapour escape ; the cold water 
that is wanted being let in by small channels. Some baths 
have an antechamber for dressing and undressing ; but in 
most of them this is done in the open court-yard, which on 
that account has a boarded fence, and is provided with 
benches of planks. In those parts of the country where 
wood is scarce, they sometimes consist of wretched cav- 
erns, commonly dug in the earth close to the bank of 
some river. In the houses of wealthy individuals, and in 
the palaces of the great, they are constructed in the same 
manner, but with superior elegance and convenience. The 
heat in the bath-room is usually from 32"^ to 40^ of Reau- 
mur, or 104° to 122'' of Fahrenheit, and this may be much 
increased by throwing w^ater on the glowing hot stones in 
the chamber of the oven. Thus the heat often rises, espe- 
cially on the uppermost bench, to 44° of Reaumur, equi- 
valent to 132° Fahrenheit. The persons that bathe lie 



192 POMPEII. 

quite naked on one of the benches, where they perspire 
more or less in proportion to the heat of the humid atmo- 
sphere in which they are enveloped ; while to promote per- 
spiration and more completely open the pores, they are first 
rubbed, then gently flagellated with leafy bunches of birch. 
After remaining for some time in this state, they come down 
from the sweating-bench, and wash their bodies with warm 
or cold water, and at last plunge over head in a large tub 
of water. Many persons throw themselves immediately 
from the bath-room into the adjoining river, or roll them- 
selves in the snow, in a frost of ten or more degrees. 
The Russian baths are therefore {concamerata sudatio) 
sweating-baths ; not of a moderate warmth, like the Ro- 
man tepidaria or caldaria, but very violent sweating-baths, 
which, to a person unhabituated to the practice, bring on 
a real, though a gentle and almost voluptuous swoon. 
They are vapour-baths, not water nor yet dry sweating- 
baths ; differing in this respect from all the baths of anti- 
quity, as well as from those of the modern orientals ; and 
in this consists their essential excellence, that they are be- 
neficial in such a variety of cases, where hot-water baths 
would be useless or even pernicious. They are farther 
salutary as they promote cleanliness, assist the perspira- 
tion, and render the skin soft and smooth. Neither do 
the same objections apply to them which may be alleged 
against the Greek and Roman baths. All the inventions 
of effeminacy and luxury are entirely obviated ; and of 
anointing after the use of the bath, indispensable in those, 
the Russian is wholly ignorant. Instead of this, the sud- 
den transition from heat to a rigorous frost hardens his 
body, and adapts it to all the severities of climate, and to 
every vicissitude of weather ; a transition which seems to 
us unnatural or dangerous, merely from the prejudices of 
a soft and effeminate age. ^ 

* Tooke's Russia. 



BATHS. 193 

Mr Tooke adds, that without doubt the Russians owe 
their longevity, their robust state of health, their little dis- 
position to certain mortal diseases, and their happy and 
cheerful temper, mostly to these baths ; though climate, 
aliment, and habits of living, likewise contribute. It ap- 
pears also that even the savage tribes of America are not 
wholly unacquainted with the use of the vapour-bath. 
Lewis and Clarke, in their voyage up the Missouri, have 
described one of these in the following terms : — ^ We 
observed a vapour-bath, or sweating-house, in a different 
form from that used on the frontiers of the United States 
or in the Rocky Mountains. It was a hollow square of 
six or eight feet deep, formed in the river bank by dam- 
ming up with mud the other three sides, and covering the 
whole completely, except an aperture about two feet wide 
at the top. The bathers descend by this hole, taking with 
them a number of heated stones and jugs of water ; and 
after being seated round the room, throw the water on 
the stones till the steam becomes of a temperature suffi- 
ciently high for their purposes. The baths of the Indians 
in the Rocky Mountains are of different sizes, the most 
common being made of mud and sticks, like an oven ; but 
the mode of raising the steam is exactly the same. Among 
both these nations it is very uncommon for a man to bathe 
alone ; he is generally accompanied by one, or sometimes 
several of his acquaintances ; indeed it is so essentially 
a social amusement, that to decline going in to bathe when 
invited by a friend, is one of the highest indignities that 
can be offered to him. The Indians on the frontiers gene- 
rally use a bath which will accommodate only one person, 
and is formed of wicker-work, about four feet high, arched 
at the top, and covered with skins. In this the patient 
sits till, by means of the heated stones and water, he has 
perspired sufficiently. Almost universally these baths are 
in the neighbourhood of running water, into which the 
Indians plunge immediately on coming out of the vapour- 
17 



194 POMPEII. 

bath, and sometimes return again and subject themselves 
to a second perspiration ; and the bath is employed by them 
either for pleasure or health, being in esteem for all kinds 
of diseases.' 

But to return to the baths of the Romans. Below is 
the hypocaustum, or furnace, which has not yet been de- 
scribed ; at the side are the boilers, as described by 
Vitruvius. A far different apparatus was required to sup- 
ply the rivers of water consumed in the baths of Anto- 
ninus Caracalla and Diocletian. The laconicum at Pom- 
peii however does not exactly correspond with the laconi- 
cum represented in this picture, and described by Vitru- 
vius : there is no cupola, or aperture in the floor, although 
the flue in the hypocaustum runs beneath it ; and the brazen 
shield is applied to regulate the escape of heat through the 
roof, not to admit or exclude the smoke and flame coming 
direct from the furnace ; a clumsy and dirty way of heating 
a room, and strangely at variance, if it were really prac- 
tised, with the finished elegance and luxury prevailing in 
every part of the Roman baths. Where this cupola did 
not exist, the room probably was heated, as at Pompeii, 
by a large brazier. The one found there has been de- 
scribed ; it seems to have been filled with braize, or small 
charcoal, which was lighted without, and, when it burnt 
clear and bright, brought into the concamerata sudatio, 
and placed under the opening in the hemispherical ceiling 
of the laconicum. 

It is probable that the Romans resorted to the thermae 
for the purpose of bathing, at the same time of the day 
that others were accustomed to make use of their private 
baths. 

This was generally from two o'clock in the afternoon 
till the dusk of the evening, at which time the baths were 
shut till two the next day. This practice, however, varied 
at different times, as we shall have occasion to remark 
hereafter. Notice was given when the baths were ready 



BATHS. 195 

by the ringing of a bell ; the people then left the exercise 
of the sphaeristerium and hastened to the caldarium, lest 
the water should cool. But when bathing became more 
universal among the Romans, this part of the day was in- 
sufficient, and they gradually exceeded the hours that had 
been allotted for this purpose. Between two and three 
in the afternoon was, however, the most eligible time for 
the exercises of the palaestra and the use of the baths. It 
must be understood that we are now speaking of the days 
about the equinoxes ; for as the Romans divided their day, 
from sunrise to sunset, into twelve hours, at all seasons of 
the year, the hours of a summer's day were longer, and 
those of a winter's day shorter, than the mean length, — 
continually varying, as the sun approached or receded from 
the solstice. Hadrian forbade any but those who were 
sick to enter the public baths before two o'clock. The 
thermae were by few emperors allowed to be continued 
open so late as five in the evening. Martial says, that 
after four o'clock they demanded a hundred quadrantes 
of those who bathed. This, though a hundred times the 
usual price, only amounted to about nineteen pence. We 
learn from the same author, that the baths were opened 
sometimes earlier than two o'clock. He says, that Nero's 
baths were exceeding hot at twelve o'clock, and the steam 
of the water immoderate. Alexander Severus, to gratify 
the people in their passion for bathing, not only suffered 
the thermae to be opened before break of day, which had 
never been permitted before, but also furnished the lamps 
with oil for the convenience of the people. 

From this time it appears that the Romans continued 
equally attached to the practice of bathing until the remov- 
al of the seat of empire to Constantinople ; afler which we 
have no account of any new thermae being built, and may 
suppose that most of those which were then frequented in 
the city of Rome, for want of the imperial patronage, gra- 
dually fell into decay. It may likewise be remarked, that 



196 POMPEII. 

the use of linen became every day more general ; that 
great disorders were committed in the baths, a proper care 
and attention in the management of them not being kept 
up ; and that the aqueducts by which they were supplied 
with water were many of them ruined in the frequent in- 
vasions and inroads of the barbarous nations. All these 
causes greatly contributed to hasten the destruction of the 
baths. 

Nothing relating to the thermae has more exercised the 
attention of the learned, than the manner of supplying the 
great number of bathing vessels made use of in them with 
warm water. For supposing each cell of Diocletian's 
baths large enough to contain six people, yet, even at that 
moderate computation, 18,000 persons might have been 
bathing at the same time ; and as no vestiges remain of 
any vessels in the thermse, to give the least foundation 
for conjecturhig in what manner this was performed, it has 
been generally believed that the method described by Vitru- 
vius was that in use. Baccius has more professedly treat- 
ed this matter than any modern author ; he imagined that 
the water might be derived from the castella, which he ob- 
served to be situated without the thermae ; but as those 
castella were upon a level with the thermae themselves, he 
thinks for that reason they were obliged to make use of 
machines to raise the water to the height at which it ap- 
pears to have been delivered in the ruins of Diocletian's 
baths. Baccius was induced to form this opinion by the 
number of pipes which he saw dug up under the open area, 
where there had never been any buildings, all of them 
surrounded with flues from the hypocaustum. He there- 
fore imagined that the water was heated on the outside of 
the thermae ; but this supposition appeared so full of diffi- 
culties, as upon reflection to discourage him from enquiring 
any farther into the subject. By the assistance of two 
sections of the castella of Antoninus, given by Piranesi, 
we hope to be able to clear up this mystery, and to show 



BATHS. 



197 




that the Romans, from the time of the invention there de- 
scribed, could be under no difficulty in heating the greatest 
bodies of water that their most extensive thermie required. 
To have a clear conception of the manner in which this 
17* 



198 POMPEII. 

was executed^ it will be necessary to refer to the engrav- 
ings of these two sections. The castellum of the thermae 
of Antoninus Caracalla was supplied with water by the 
aqueduct of Antoninus, under part of which passed the Via 
Appia ; two of the arches of this aqueduct are represented 
at A. B is a cistern which received the water from the 
aqueduct. C is an aperture for permitting the descent ot 
the water from the receptacle to the chambers below. D 
is a reservoir tvith a mosaic pavement, wherein the water 
was exposed to the heat of the sun. E. is another aper- 
ture through which the waters passed into the lowest cham- 
bers placed immediately over the hypocaustum. F the 
hypocaustum. O O doors for introducing the fuel. A 
transverse section through the middle of the castellum is 
given at H. By the plan of this castellum it appears that 
there were twenty-eight of these vaulted rooms placed 
over the hypocaustum ; they were arranged in two rows, 
fourteen on a side, and all communicated with each other. 
The sections show that over these were twenty-eight other 
rooms, having likewise a communication with each other, 
although only one of them had any communication with 
the chambers below, through the aperture at E already 
mentioned. Upon the top of all was a spacious reservoir, 
not very deep, but extending the whole length of the cas- 
tellum, in which the water was considerably heated by the 
influence of the sun, before it passed into the several 
chambers. This reservoir received its water from the 
cistern B, and not immediately from the aqueduct. This 
arrangement seems to have been meant to promote a more 
gentle flow of the water into the reservoir, that its surface 
might not be ruffled, nor the power of the sun to heat its 
contents diminished. When there was no efflux from the 
inferior chambers, there could be no demands for water 
from the reservoir, which would have been liable to over- 
flow but for an aperture in the side of the cistern, through 
which the waste water ran off* in a different direction from 



BATHS. 199 

that which was used for bathing. The twenty-eight vaulted 
chambers placed immediately over the hypocaustum would 
now begin to be heated, which heat they would acquire 
so much the quicker as only one of them had any commu- 
nication with the external air by the apertures C. and E. 
Flues (N N) also ran up through the side and party-walls 
of these chambers, to increase the facility of heating so 
vast a body of water. The chambers (HH) were also 
supplied with flues from the hypocaustum, and served as a 
reservoir of tepid water for those below. The water they 
received was likewise heated by the sun. When the time 
for bathing was come, the cocks were turned to admit the 
hot water from the lower chamber into the labra of the 
baths, to which it would run with great velocity, and ascend 
a perpendicular height in the thermae, level with the sur- 
face of the receptacle inthecastellum. The current would 
be accelerated by the expansive force of the steam confined 
in the castellum. To prevent the water cooling as it passed 
through the tubes under ground, they were all carefully 
surrounded with flues from the prsefurnium ; and always 
considerably heated before the water entered them. Each 
of these chambers was, within the walls, forty-nine feet 
six inches long, by twenty-seven feet six inches wide, and 
about thirty high, the number of superficial feet in the whole 
floor of twenty- eight rooms being 38,115. If we allow 
thirty feet for the mean height, the whole quantity of water 
in these lower rooms will amount to 1 , 1 43,450 cubic feet. 
And the like quantity must be allowed for the upper rooms, 
making the whole quantity heated by fire 2,^86,900 cubic 
feet, sufficient, allowing eight ^~ cubic feet of hot water to 

* This is Cameron's estimate, from whom this whole account is 
taken. Whether eight cubic feet was sufficient for a man, would 
of course depend mainly upon the temperature to which the water 
was heated ; and therefore these numbers cannot be relied on to any 
degree of accuracy. His own estimate is evidently numerically in- 



200 raimii. 

each man, for the accommodation of 285,862 persons. We 
have no intimation from the ancients when they first fell 
upon this expedient for heating such large bodies of water; 
whether it was an invention of the Romans or brought from 
the East. We may reasonably suppose, that, as it was 
not necessary before the public warm-baths were built in 
Rome, it was not more ancient than the time of Augustus, 
in whose reign, we are told by Dion Cassius, ^ that Mae- 
cenas first instituted a swimming-bath of warm water, or a 
cahda piscina. — {See Cameron on Baths.) 

The hypocaustum (O O) was a fiimace under ground, 
the bottom of which formed an inclined plane : its internal 
side sloping gradually to the mouth of Uie fiirnace, where 
the fiiel was put in. The reason which Virtruvius gives 
for this method of construction is, that the heat might be 
more equally conveyed to the vessels above. There were 
communications from the back of these furnaces to the 
several rooms of the baths, by means of flues fixed in the 
walls (P), which were more or le^ numerous as the pur- 
poses to which the rooms were appropriated required. 
These flues all proceeded from the back, or roof of the 
furnace, which was supported by pillars of brick (M) two 
feet high. The construction will be explained by com- 
paring the following description of a Roman hypocaustum 
discovered in England with the section of the castellum 
of Antoninus. It resembles that which remains at Pom- 
peii. ' At Wroxter in Shropshire was discovered a small 
square room, set with four ranks of small brick pillars, t 
eight inches square, laid in a strong sort of very fine red 
clay ; each pillar resting upon a foot-square tile or quarry 

correct ' The water,' he continues, • would gradually cool as it 
flowed in firom the opper chambos,' — not if the fire in the bypo- 
canstnm were kept np. 

♦ 1. iv. p. 553. 

f A model of dmilar rooms discovered in England may be seen 
in the entrance chamber of the society of Antiqnanes in London. 



BATHS. 201 

of brick : upon the head of every pillar was fixed a large 
tile (L) of two feet square, hard almost as flint, as most of 
the Roman bricks are : these pillars supported a double 
floor (K) of very strong mortar mixed with coarse gravel 
and bruised or broken bricks : the first of these floors was 
laid upon the large tiles, and when dry, the second floor 
was laid upon it; but first there was a range or rank of 
tunnel bricks fixed with iron cramps to the wall within, 
the lower ends of which were level with the under sides of 
the broad tiles, the upper ends with the surface of the upper 
floor ; and every tunnel had alike two opposite mortice 
holes, one in each side, cut through for a passage to dis- 
perse the heat across them all.' 

In the antique baths at Rome, where the church of St 
Cecilia in Trastevere now stands, the flues are still to be 
seen : they are of copper, and appear to have been gilt. 

The thermae were constructed with this splendour, and 
at so vast an expense, principally for the use of the poorer 
classes, although all ranks frequented them for the sake 
of the various conveniences which they contained. But 
few Roman citizens in easy circumstances were without 
the luxury of a private bath. These, of course, varied 
in their construction, as much as the tastes or prodigality 
of the owner ; but the following description may be taken 
as a sample of their general arrangement. Passing through 
the atrium you entered an open court of moderate dimen- 
sions, surrounded by a portico, towards one end of which 
stood a baptisterium, or basin for cold bathing. The sides 
of the portico were usually painted with trees loaded with 
fruits ; those of the basin with fish of different species, upon 
a blue ground, which seen through the water, appeared 
to be swimming in their native element. The court was 
paved in mosaic. Hence the bathers entered the apodyte- 
rium, where their garments were given to the attendant 
slaves called Capsarii. Next to the apodyterium was a 
lofty and spacious apartment, the frigidarium, containing a 



202 POMPEII. 

second cold bath, intended to be used when the weather 
made it unpleasant to bathe in that exposed to the open 
air . The lower end of this room was left vacant ; the 
upper end, in which the bath was placed, was semicir- 
cular, and in the centre of the semicircular part was 
placed the basin. This portion of the wall was decorated 
with pilasters and niches, in which were placed statues 
(to be seen represented on the painted svalls of the baths 
of Titus,) and two raised steps, called scholse, ^ or places 
of waiting, ran around it for the use of spectators, or per- 
sons waiting for their turn. This part was lighted from 
above, that no shadow might be cast upon the bath itself. 
Before bathing they used various exercises to heat and 
render supple the body, as lifting heavy rings, kneeling 
on the pavement, and bending backwards till their heads 
were brought in contact with their feet, and similar tricks, 
which women practised as well as men. The tepidarium 
came next in succession ; it was nearly square, and also 
was encircled by two steps, or platforms, which however 
were not intended only for bystanders, but served for the 
bathers to dry themselves, or to repose when they left the 
adjoining apartment, the caldarium, or hot bath. This was 
of a circular form, surrounded by three steps, with niches 
in the wall containing seats. The walls and floor were 
pierced with flues from the hypocaustum, as seen in the 
section of the Concamerata Sudatio at Pompeii. On one 
side of the sudatorium stood either a brazier, or a sort of 
stove heated from below, called laconicum, which gave its 
name to that part of the room. In the centre of the coni- 
cal ceiUng was a clypeus of bronze, resembling a round 
shield, I and forming a valve, which was raised or lowered 
by means of a chain, and increased or diminished at will 

* Hence the term school, because the philosophers frequented 
those places where they were sure of an audience. — Petronius, 
Sat., cap. 17. 

t Vitruv., lib. vi, cap. 10. 



BATHS. 203 

the degree of heat. In wealthy families^ the females usu- 
ally had baths separate from those of the men, but adjoining 
them, that they might be heated by the same fire. 

The hypocaustum has been described in public baths : 
in private baths it was similar, but on a smaller scale. It 
is worth while to remark, that Vitruvius gives directions 
how to make wooden floors to the caldaria, so peculiarly 
liable to accidents by fire. They are to be rendered secure 
by a lining of tiles, laid upon iron bars and plastered over. 
The method of heating the water was similar to that at 
Pompeii, where three boilers are employed, as represented 
in the painting found in the baths of Titus. Another 
method, highly approved of as precluding all chance of 
the water being smoked, was to twist thin copper pipes 
into a spiral form, like the worm of a distillery, and expose 
them to the fire. The water entered at the top and ran 
out at the lower end, and became thoroughly heated in its 
passage. 

There is a letter of Seneca, contrasting his own times 
with the period of the republic's manly vigour, which 
illustrates the subject on which we are now employed so 
much that we shall extract a considerable part of it. 

' 1 write you from the very villa of Scipio Africanus, 
having first invoked his spirit, and that receptacle in which, 
as I believe, that great man was buried. I see a villa built 
of squared stone, the wall of which encloses a wood, and 
has towers in the style of a fortification ; below the build- 
ings and w^alls is a reservoir large enough for the use of 
an army. The bath is small and dark, after the old fashion, 
for our forefathers thought nothing hot that was not obscure. 
Great was my pleasure as I compared the manners of Sci- 
pio with our own. In this nook did that dread of Carthage, 
to whom our city is indebted that it was taken but once, 
bathe his limbs, wearied with rustic labour ; for he tilled his 
own ground, according to ancient custom : he lived under 
this mean roof, he stood upon this paltry pavement. But 



204 POMPEII. 

who would now submit to bathe in this fashion ? That per- 
son is now held to be poor and sordid whose walls shine 
not with a profusion of the most precious materials, the 
marbles of Egypt, inlaid with those of Numidia ; unless 
the walls are laboriously stuccoed in imitation of painting ; 
unless the chambers are covered with glass ; unless the 
Thasian stone, formerly a rare sight even in temples, sur- 
rounds those capacious basins, into which we cast our 
bodies, weakened by immoderate sweats, and the water is 
conveyed through silver pipes. As yet, I speak only of 
plebeian baths : what shall I say when I come to those of 
our freedmen ? What a profusion of statues ! What a 
number of columns do I see supporting nothing, but plac- 
ed as an ornament merely on account of the expense ! 
What quantities of water murmuring down steps ! We 
are come to that pitch of luxury that we disdain to tread 
on anything but precious stones. In this bath of Scipio 
are small holes, rather than windows, cut through the wall 
so as to admit the light without weakening it as a fortifica- 
tion ; but now we reckon a bath fit only for moths and 
vermin if its windows are not so disposed as to receive the 
rays of the sun during its whole course ; unless we are 
washed and sunburnt at the same time ; unless from the 
bathing vessel we have a prospect of the sea and land : 
so that what brought crowds together to admire it when 
first built, is now rejected as antiquated, so inventive is 
luxury in finding new things to obliterate her own works. 
Formerly the baths were few in number and not much 
ornamented, for why should a thing of such little value be 
ornamented, a thing invented for use and not for the pur- 
poses of delicacy ? The water in those days was not 
poured down in drops like a shower, neither did it run al- 
ways fresh as from a hot spring ; nor was the clearness 
of it considered as a matter of consequence. Yet, O 
good Gods, how pleasant was it to enter these baths, 
though dark and covered with common plaster, which you 



BATHS, 205 

knew that Cato, in his ^dileship, or Fabius Maximus, or 
one of the CorneUi, had tempered with his own hand ! 
For the most noble ^diles performed this duty of enter- 
ing those places which the people frequented, to require 
cleanliness, and see that they were kept at a useful and 
wholesome temperature ; not as has lately been invented, 
at a heat like a furnace, so that a slave convicted of some 
crime, might, as a punishment, be bathed alive. It now 
seems to make no difference whether a bath be warm or 
burning.' 

Between the Forum and the baths is a small Corinthian 
temple, dedicated to Fortune by a private person, one M. 
TulHus. It has been cased with marble both within and 
without, and is accessible by a flight of steps, broken in 
the middle by a podium or low wall. The lower flight 
consists of three, the upper of eight steps. There is an 
altar placed upon the podium, which was protected from 
wanton intrusion by an iron railing running along the side- 
margins and in front of the steps. Holes for the recep- 
tion of the uprights still remain, together with pieces of 
iron. The portico has four columns in front and two at 
the sides, and the external walls of the cella are decorated 
with pilasters. At the end of the building is a semicircular 
niche, containing a small temple of the Corinthian order, 
richly finished and designed, under which the statue of 
the goddess was placed. 

This Marcus Tullius, who appears from an inscription 
on the architrave to have erected this temple, has been 
supposed to be a descendant of the great Cicero. But the 
belief seems to rest entirely on the circumstance of a sta- 
tue, the size of life, bearing some resemblance to the 
busts of that distinguished orator, having been found in 
the interior of the building. He is represented clothed 
in the toga prsetexta, the robe of office of the Roman mag- 
istrates ; and, which adds value and singularity to the 
statue, this robe is entirely painted with a deep purple vio- 
18 



206 



POMPEtl. 




let colour. This seems to givfe reason for believing that 
the prsBtexta, instead of being a garment with only a pur- 
ple hem, as it is usually explained, was entirely dyed with 
this precious colour ; at least in the later times of the re- 
public, in which the influx of wealth had introduced an 
extravagant scale of expenditure. The price of this pur- 
ple was enormous ; the violet, though the less costly sort, 



TEMPLE OF FORTUNE. 207 

is said by Pliny to have been worth 100 denarii (about 
£S, 4s y 11 dj) the pound ; the red is valued by the same 
authority at ] 000 denarii. It was obtained from the mu- 
rex, a shell-fish found in various parts of the Mediterra- 
nean. The species which produced the violet dye was 
found in considerable quantity near Tarentum ; the red 
was chiefly brought from the neighbourhood of Tyre, 
whence the common name of Tyrian purple. Cochineal 
has now entirely superseded these dyes, but we may still 
perhaps trace the estimation anciently set upon them in 
the colours appropriated to the Romish hierarchy, in which 
the prelates are dressed in violet, and the cardinals in 
scarlet. 

A female statue, the size of life, was also found within 
the cella, clothed in a tunic falling to her feet, and above 
it a toga. The border of the former is gilt ; the latter is 
edged with a red purple bandeau, an inch and a quarter 
wide ; the right arm is pressed upon the bosom, with the 
hand elevated to the chin, while the left hand holds up 
the toga. The face of this figure has been sawn off*. 
Some have supposed this a piece of economy of the Pom- 
peians, who, wishing to pay a compliment to some dis- 
tinguished person, had thought that the cheapest way of 
doing it was to substitute her face for that originally belong- 
ing to the statue. 

It is manifest that the ancients have made excavations 
on this spot, and carried away the columns of the temple, 
and the marble with which it was covered, both within 
and without. Some of the capitals however remain to 
show the order of its architecture, and enou£;h is pre- 




FJat drinking-cup. 



208 POMPEII. 

served to assure us that it was rich in ornament and highly 
finished. 

The street running from the Temple of Fortune to the 
Forum, and called the Street of Fortune, has furnished 
an unusually rich harvest of various utensils. A long list 
of these is given by Sir W. Gell, according to which there 
were found no less than two hundred and fifty small bottles 
of inferior glass, with numerous other articles of the same 
material, which it would be tedious to particularize. 

A marble statue of a laughing faun, two bronze figures 
of Mercury, the one three inches and the other four inches 
high, and a statue of a female nine inches high, were also 
found, together with many bronze lamps and stands. We 
may add vases, basins with handles, patera?, bells, elastic 
springs, hinges, buckles for harness, a lock, an inkstand, 
and a strigi 1 ;gold ear-rings, and a silver spoon 5 an oval 
cauldron, a saucepan, and a mould for pastry, and a weight 
of alabaster used in spinning, with its ivory axis remaining, 
he catalogue finishes with a leaden weight, forty-nine 
lamps of common clay ornamented with masks and ani- 
mals, forty-five lamps for two wicks, three boxes with a slit 
to keep money in, in one of which were found thirteen 
coins of Titus, Vespasian, and Domitian. Among the 
most curious things discovered, were seven glazed plates 
found packed in straw. There were also seventeen un- 
varnished vases of terra-cotta and seven clay dishes, and 
a large pestle and mortar. The scales and steelyard 
which we have given are said to have been found at the 
same time. On the beam of the steelyard are Roman 



TEMPLE OF FORTUNE. 



S09 




numerals from X to XXX ; a V was placed for division 
between each X^ smaller divisions are also marked. The 
inscription is 



IMP. VESP. AVG. IIX. 
T. IMP. AVG. F. VI. C. 
EXACTA. IM. CAPITO. 



which is translated thus : — ^ In the eighth consulate of 
Vespasian Emperor Augustus, and in the sixth of Titus 
Emperor and son of Augustus, Proved in the Capitol.' 
This shows the great care taken to enforce a strict uni- 
formity in the weights and measures used throughout the 
empire : the date corresponds with the year 77 of our 
era, only two years previous to the great eruption. The 
18* 



210 



POMPEIf. 




Steelyard, called Trutinae Carapanae, with part of the beam and inscription on a 
larger 8cale. 



TEMPLE OF FORTUNE. 



211 



steelyard found was also furnished with chains and hooks, 
and with numbers up to XXX. Another pair of scales 





had two cups, with a weight on the side opposite to the 
material weighed, to mark more accurately the fractional 
weight ; this weight was called by the Ancients ycavcov^ 
ligula, and examen. 

Gell tells us that the skeleton of a Pompeian was found 
here, ^ who apparently, for the sake of sixty coins, a small 
plate and a saucepan of silver, had remained in his house 



212 POMPEII. 

till the street was already half filled with volcanic mat- 
ter.' He was found as if in the act of escaping from his 
window. Two others were found in the same street. 




Bronze Lamp and Stand. 




Figure with a mask, from a painting in Pompeii. 



CHAPTER VITI. 

THEATRES. 

Next in importance to the excavation which has laid 
open the Forum, is that of the quarter of the Theatres. 
It is approached either by the street of the silversmiths, 
already described, on the eastern side, or by the street 
leading out at the south-eastern corner of the Forum ; 
both routes are now completely excavated. The space 
here cleared comprises two theatres of unequal size ; a 
square called by some the provision market, but more 
usually the soldiers' quarters ; a temple dedicated to Isis ; 
another called the Greek temple, or the temple of Her- 
cules, with other buildings of minor importance. It will 
be well to preface the description of these edifices by a 
general account of the form and distribution of a Greek 
or Roman theatre, the nature of the pieces to be repre- 
sented, and the method of representing them. In all these 
points, the ancient and modern drama differ so widely, that 



214 POMPEII. 

without some previous knowledge of them, we could hardly 
hope to be intelligible to the reader. It is a curious and 
interesting subject : it is also a very complicated and exten- 
sive one. Our account of it, therefore, must necessarily 
be very short and imperfect ; it will be enough to indicate 
the leading features which run through the Greek, and 
its descendant the Roman drama, without pretending to 
characterise the varying practice of successive ages, or to 
point out accurately the different usages of the one coun- 
try or the other. We shall presume that the reader is 
already acquainted with the leading peculiarities of the 
Greek stage ; that it did not admit more than three inter- 
locutors at once ; that it deals much more in set speeches, 
and runs less into natural broken dialogue, than the Eng- 
hsh ; that, as a general rule, there was no change of scene 
during the piece; and that a body called the Chorus, bear- 
ing no analogy to anything in the modern drama, was intro- 
duced, a sort of medium between actors and spectators, who 
took little share in the action of the piece, but rather re- 
flected upon what was going on, than promoted the catas- 
trophe, and did not come upon the stage, but occupied the 
orchestra (a term which will be fully explained hereafter,) 
at times taking part in the dialogue, at times varying it by 
choral songs and dancing. 

Both in Greece and Rome, dramatic entertainments, 
instead of being, as they now are, matter of private specu- 
lation, formed a part of the public expenditure, or were 
exhibited gratuitously by some wealthy and liberal, or am- 
bitious person. At Athens, in particular, they were strictly 
religious ceremonies, and formed the most important part 
of some of the chief festivals annually celebrated. The 
theatres therefore were necessarily of immense size, for 
they were meant to contain the male population of great 
cities. Instead also of being open nightly, and forming 
the recreation of the people when the labour of the day 
was over, they were only open at certain times, and then 



THEATRES. 215 

by day, and the whole day, as the amusement of the holi- 
day. The performances therefore took place by daylight, 
and usually in an uncovered theatre : always, we believe, 
in Greece, for awnings were a late invention of Roman 
luxury. These two circumstances, combined with its reli- 
gious origin, appear to have exercised a powerful influence 
over the drama. In explaining that influence, we shall 
speak only of tragedy, because the growth of comedy is 
comparatively little known ; and because, tragedy having 
first assumed a regular form, comedy naturally adapted 
itself to that form, so far as the method of representation 
and peculiarities of ornament were concerned. In tragedy, 
then, the dramatis personse were invariably taken from the 
mythic ages, from a class whom time and fable had invested 
with preternatural grandeur ; men either the immediate 
oflfepring or the descendants of gods, and accustomed to 
see and converse with gods upon earth ; capable alike of 
greatly daring, or of greatly enduring, and exalted above 
the common run of humanity in the qualities of both mind 
and body. Every thing therefore was to be great, but 
calm : the violent passions, the stormy scenes, which in 
the hands of our own dramatists produce such powerful 
effects, would^ not have found favour with an Athenian 
audience. The dialogue therefore was regular and sus- 
tained, the speeches long and rhetorical, and good recita- 
tion was of more importance than good acting. But the 
nature of the theatres contributed also to produce this 
effect. In their huge area, the expression of the face, the 
modulation of the voice, together with all that we term by- 
play, would have been lost to far the larger part of the 
audience. With these excellences, the greatest part of an 
actor's merit, they were unacquainted, and therefore could 
not try to preserve them ; their object was to see and hear, 
not minutely, but to see and hear : and to increase the 
splendour of the spectacle, and enable the voice to pene- 
trate the most distant parts of the building, they had re- 
course to contrivances which to us appear singular enough. 



216 



POMPEII. 



In the rude songs, or farces, from which the drama arose, 
the clown (such, rather than actor, is the proper term) 
smeared his face with wine-lees, or assumed some other 
coarse disguise, to enjoy a more unlimited and fearless 
range of huffoonery. This practice of hiding the face 
appears never to have been laid aside, ^schylus, the 
father of Grecian tragedy, invented the maskj whether 
because custom rendered it imperative that the performer's 
face should be hidden, or that he did not appreciate the 
advantages to be derived from the breach of this rule. 
We have not the means, nor would it be to the purpose, 
to describe the earliest form of the mask, or to trace its 
progress. Ultimately, it was formed of brass, or some 
sonorous material, or the mouth at least lined with metal, 
so as to collect and reverberate the voice with something 
like the power of a speaking-trumpet. The Greeks called 
it TTQoaojTieiov, the Latins persona, a personando, from re- 
sounding, ^ because the head and mouth being entirely 
covered by it, and only one passage left for the voice, this 
cannot be dissipated, but being collected into a body, is 
thus rendered clearer and more sonorous.' ^ They were 
made to contain the whole head, covered with hair of 
colour suitable to the characters they were meant to repre- 
sent, and seem to have been coloured, for minute direc- 




Masks, Dwarf, and Monkey, from a painting. 

tions are given as to the complexion, and smooth or wrin- 
kled character of the face. No doubt can exist as to 



* Aul. Gell. V. 7. 



THEATRES. 217 

the minute attention paid to this subject by the Greeks, 
for Julius Pollux enumerates no less than twenty-six clas- 
ses of tragic masks, distinguished each by what appa- 
rently is its technical name. He divides them into the 
ranks of men, young men, slaves, and women, and names 
six of the first, eight of the second, three of the third, 
and nine of the last. As a sample of the arrangement, 
we give the first class, which consists of ' The shaven man, 
the white, the grey, the black, the brown, the deeper 
brown :' * the other classes are similarly subdivided, and 
to each is attached a short description of the character 
of face which it should pourtray. ' The shaven man is 
the oldest of all, his hair quite white and collected upon 
the foretop (oyxog). The foretop is the upright projection 
above the face, in shape like the letter A. His beard is 
close shaven, and his cheeks pendulous. The black man 
is named from the darkness of his complexion, his hair and 
beard are curling, his face rough, and his foretop large.' f 
Such is the exact detail continued through the four classes, 
and these seem merely to have been the regular stock of 
the theatre or mask maker : for he afterwards enumerates 
extraordinary personages, as Actaeon with his horns, or 
many-eyed Argus, or Tyro with bruised cheeks, as intro- 
duced by Sophocles, or Gorgon or Death, or a Fury, and 
a host more of mythological personages, or Thamyris, with 
one eye blue, and the other black. This last is the most 
extraordinary. It appears from the marble masks still 
extant, that the white of the eye was imitated, leaving 
only the aperture of the iris to see through ; but the irides 
themselves of Thamyris's eyes must have been imitated : 
an extraordinary instance of minute attention to propriety, 
when two-thirds of the spectators probably could not tell 

^ttvBog, civn^ ^atvQoTg^oc. iv. 

t Pollux Onomasticon, iv, 19. 

19 



218 



POMPEII. 



whether he had any irides at all. The same may be ob- 
served of Tyro's black and blue face. 

There are two very striking tragic masks in the Town- 
ley gallery. The male is remarkable for the great eleva- 
tion of the hair {oyaog) to give increased stature and dig- 




nity to the actor ; its features are stern and exaggerated. 
Those of the female are regular and beautiful, and bear a 
wild, intense, inspired expression of terror, such as Cassan- 
dra may have worn while darkly presaging her own fate, 




THEATRES. 



219 



and the evils about to fall on the house of Atreus. The 
comic masks are still more numerous than the tragic, and 
there are others devoted to the satyric drama. ^ This 
was something of a medium between tragedy and comedy; 
in spirit and cheerfulness it resembled the latter, but its ex- 
ternal form was derived from the former, and its subject 
was mythological. Its distinctive mark was a chorus of 
satyrs, who accompanied such heroic adventures as were 
of a more cheerful hue, with lively songs, gestures, and 
movements. The immediate cause of this species of drama 
was derived from the festivals of Bacchus, in which satyr 
masks were a common disguise. In these representations, 
therefore, the severe beauty of the tragic mask, softened in 
its features and expression, was combined with, and oppos« 
ed to the grotesque character usually given to Fauns and 
Sileni ; and the ancient sculptors seem to have been fond 




Tragic and Grotesque Masks. 

* The original is in the Townley Gallery ; but it is very diffi 
cult to convey the expression of a mask by an engraving. 



220 



POMPEII. 



of thus contrasting them. There are some instances of 
this in the Townley gallery, from which a drawing is given 
above. We also give a masked figure of Silenus from 
the same collection. The only existing satiric drama is 
the Cyclops of Euripides. 




J\I asked figure of Silenus, 



"The tragedians rarely travelled out of the mythic age : 
indeed there are only three known instances of subjects 
being taken from a more recent period, the capture of Mi- 



TflEATRES. 



^1 



letus, by Phrynichus, and the Phoenissae, by Phrynichus, 
and the Persae, by j3Eschylus, both written in commemo- 
ration of the overthrow of Xerxes. Hence the same per- 
sons, Achilles, Hercules, Orestes, Theseus, were continu- 
ally re-appearing on the stage. We know that a peculiar 
costume was assigned to them, as Priam was always shav- 
en, Ulysses dressed in a cloak, that being the Ithacan 
habit ; Achilles and Neoptolemus were introduced with 
diadems. It is not improbable, therefore, that they had a 
traditionary cast of features assigned them, and if Mr Flax- 
man's assertion be correct, that the Grecian artists had for 
each of their principal deities an ideal model to which they 
always conformed, we may be sure that when introduced on 
the stage the orthodox countenance was strictly followed 
The nature of their characters, therefore, created^ farther 
inducement to retain and improve the mask, rather than to 
cast it aside, as a rude and mean appendage of the art in 
its infancy. Devoted as the Greeks were to beauty, an 
ugly or plebeian Prometheus, or Agamemnon, or Achil- 
les, would have been intolerable ; but an ugly Apollo 
would inevitably have been hooted off the stage. Many 
imitations of masks carved in marble still exist, which dis- 
play great beauty and excellence of workmanship. We 
know much less of the minutiae of the Roman than of the 
Greek theatre ; it appears, from a passage in Cicero, that 




Comic Scene from a Paintings at Pompeii. 

19* 



222 



POMPEli: 



the celebrated Roscius sometimes played without his mask, 
and that this was preferred by his audience. 

It is evident that the heads of the actors must have ap- 
peared disproportionately large. To remedy this, and to 
raise their stature to the heroic standard, a thick-soled 
boot was invented, called e/u^ag^ and JcoOogvog, from which 
the words buskin and cothurnus have become almost con- 
vertible with tragedy in the Augustan age of Latin, and 
that which has been called the Augustan age of English 




Trcigic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. 

literature. Both the cothurnus and the oyy.og above-men- 
tioned are represented in the annexed outline of a painting 
found in Pompeii. Distinguished from these was the comic 
shoe, 8jLi^aTr]g, in Latin soccus. The proportion of the 
figure, thus increased in height, was preserved by length- 
ening the arms with gloves, and by stuffing and padding 
the body, so as to convey the idea of superhuman size 
and strength. How all this was consistent with any thing 
like natural speech or action, it is not easy to imagine. 
Distance certainly at once rendered the increase of bulk 



THEATRES. 223 

more necessary, and softened the awkwardness of such 
made-up figures ; still, in spite of the acknowledged purity 
of Grecian taste, and of the exquisite art and splendour 
lavished on their adornment, they must surely have seemed 
constrained and unnatural to any eye and ear not habitu- 
ated to such spectacles. It is evident, that while this 
method of representation continued, tragedy could never 
lose its uniform and measured character. If the author 
had thought it consistent with the dignity of the occasion, 
and of his subject, to introduce those tumultuous scenes, 
that abrupt and impassioned dialogue, which in the hands 
of our elder dramatists produce such astonishing effect, they 
would have been lost in the delivery. 

Not less minute directions ^ are given respecting cos- 
tume than respecting masks. Tiresias had a peculiar dress, 
like a net. Atreus and Agamemnon, and such characters, 
had a peculiar upper garment. Bacchus, a saffron robe, 
with a broad embroidered band around his breast. Tele- 
phus and Philoctetes, who were represented in great dis- 
tress, were clothed in rags. And the fondness of Euri- 
pides for introducing such subjects, and raising compassion 
for bodily suffering, is a constant subject for the ridicule 
of Aristophanes, who regarded it as an effeminate and 
unworthy deviation from the loftier style of his predeces- 
sors, -S^schyius and Sophocles. In the Acharnians, when 
Dicaeopolis is to plead his cause before the Chorus, he 
has recourse to Euripides for the means of moving their 
pity : — 

Good Euripides, 

Give me the rags from some old tragedy. 
Eurip. Whose rags wilt have? those in which OEneus here, 

That wretched old man, used to play his part ? 
DiccBop. Not those of CEneus, but one poorer still. 
Eurip. Blind Phcenix, then ? 
DiccBOp No, still you miss the mark : 

Think of some other, much worse off than PhcDnix. 

* Pollux, iv, 13. 



224 POMPEII. 

JEurip. Whose rags, in the devil's name, does this man want ? 

Perhaps you mean the beggar Philoctetes ? 
DiecBop. There's yet another doubly beggarly. 
Eurip. Wilt have the looped and windowed raggedness 

Of lame Bellerophon ? 
Dices op. No : yet my friend 

Was lame, exacting, with large gifts of tongue. 
Eurip. 1 know the man — the Mysian, Telephus, 

Accordingly he turns to his servant, and bids him reach 
down Telephus's rags ; they lie up there between those 
of Thyestes and Ino. All the persons here named were 
characters in lost tragedies of Euripides. The Telephus, 
for some reason or other, was a standing joke among the 
comic poets. Dicseopolis continues his suit for all the 
apparatus of beggary, — a staff, a bucket with a hole burnt 
in it, a cup with a broken lip, a few leaves to garnish his 
bucket. Euripides complains that the man is robbing him 
of a whole tragedy, but complies with his wishes, until driv- 
en off by an insulting request which touches the honour 
of his parentage. ^ 

Pollux is equally exact in his directions for comedy. 
Tbe dress of the old man was of some grave colour ; pur- 
ple belonged to young men ; countrymen were distinguish- 
ed by a scrip, a staff, a goatskin tunic ; parasites wore 
black, or some dark colour ; slaves, different ranks of 
women, had each their costume : but these rules proba- 
bly belong to the last style, the New Comedy, as it is 
called, which came into fashion during the fourth century 
B. c. From Greece it was introduced at Rome ; it form- 
ed the regular comedy of the Roman stage, and, lost in 
the original language, still survives in the works of Plau- 
tus and Terence. The Old Comedy of Athens overleap- 
ed all rule. As the furniture of the tragic muse was cal- 
culated to elevate the mind of the spectator, and prepare 
it for scenes of action and suffering above the lot of ordi- 

* Acbarnians, 415 — 430. 



THEATRES. 



225 



nary humanity, so the furniture of the comic muse was 
intended to reverse this effect. The Old Comedy was in 
fact a parody upon tragedy in great measure ; at least the 
comedians most readily seized the opportunity of a fling 
either at the persons or the pieces of their graver hrethren, 
and still more of each other. As in the one, every thing 
was exalted, so in the other every thing was degraded and 
made ridiculous, not even excepting the gods, who meet 
with very scurvy treatment from Aristophanes. * The 
masks partook of the general character of the exhibition, 
and were made with grinning mouths, flat noses, distorted 
as best suited the fancy of the artificer, or the author's pur- 
pose. Until near the end of the Peloponnesian war, living 
persons were brought on the stage in character, with por- 
trait-masks, of course not over-flattering likenesses. In 
the New Comedy this license and the general extrava- 
gance of the old style was abridged, yet still a trace of 
it survived in the masks. Youthful characters were re- 
presented with regular and youthful features ; but aged 
persons and slaves still retained a most grotesque character 
of face, The annexed masks belong to some of Terence's 
characters i tliey are given by Mad. Dacier, on the au- 
thority of a very ancient manuscript in the Royal Library 
at Paris, and serve to illustrate the varieties of countenance 
considered applicable to diflferent characters, 




We have been more particular in this account of the 
Grecian drama than may appear to belong to the subject, 
because the Roman regular theatre was formed upon it, 
and because our knowledge of the latter is much less accu- 

* See more especially the Birds and Frogs, 



226 POMPEII. 

rate and extensive. The regular drama was not of indi- 
genous growth, and never took firm root in Italy. It was 
unknown until ahout two centuries and a half before Christ, 
when Grecian literature began to be cultivated, and never 
rose to be more than a feeble transcript of the original. 
The Romans were first led to theatrical amusements as a 
means of appeasing the anger of the gods, having been 
before only acquainted with gymnastic exercises and cir- 
cus races. During a desolating pestilence, which seemed 
proof against all remedies, they sent for hislriones from 
Etruria, a. m. c. 391 : these, however, seem to have been 
merely dancers, or tumblers rather, such as are represented 
on the Etruscan monuments. The oldest spoken plays, 
the Fabulae Atellanae, were borrowed from the Osci, of 
whom we often have had to speak, and appear to have 
been rude improvisatory attempts at rustic satire. It was 
more than 500 years after the sera usually assigned to the 
foundation of Rome, that Livius Andronicus first attempted 
to imitate the Grecian tragedy. He was followed by En- 
nius and Nsevius, and, later, by a number of writers in 
the Augustan age, and under the Emperors ; but, with 
the exception of some fragments, and the tragedies ascrib- 
ed to Seneca, all their works are lost. This is the less to 
be lamented, because it does not appear that a single Ro- 
man tragedy was ever composed upon a Roman subject. 

In the comic department they displayed more originality. 
The Fabulae Atellanse were so popular, that youths of noble 
family engaged in the representation of them ; and, in con- 
sequence, the professional actors employed in them were 
exempted from the ignominy which attached to other thea- 
trical artists. Similar to these, probably, but more polish- 
ed, were the Mimi. These were composed in verse, in 
the Latin language, and sometimes were delivered extem- 
pore. Laberius and Syrus are the two most celebrated 
writers of them. The former was compelled by a request, 
equivalent to a command, from Julius Caesar, to appear on 



THEATRES. 227 

the stage, although his compliance was attended with the 
loss of civil rights ; and the prologue which he spoke on 
this occasion is still extant, and expresses nobly and feel- 
ingly his sense of the injury. Time has left us no speci- 
mens of either of these species of composition ; and the 
scanty notices which remain concerning them do not ena- 
ble us to form a clear idea of their nature. 

The regular comedy of the Romans, which is preserved 
to us in Plautus and Terence, was for the most part pal- 
liata, that is, it appeared in a Grecian dress, and repre- 
sented Grecian manners. But they had also a comoedia 
togata, so called from the Roman dress which was worn 
in it. Afranius was the principal writer in this walk. We 
have no remains whatever of his writings, nor can we de- 
termine whether the togatcB were original comedies of new 
invention, or merely Grecian comedies adapted to Roman 
manners. The latter case is the more probable : yet it is 
not easy to conceive how Attic comedies could well be 
adapted to local circumstances of so different a nature. 
The way of living of the Romans was in general serious 
and grave, during the republic : the diversity of ranks was 
politically marked in a very decided manner, and the wealth 
of private individuals was frequently not inferior to that of 
princes ; women lived much more in society, and acted a 
much more independent part with them than among the 
Greeks ; and from this independence they fully shared in 
the general refinement of manners, and the corruption by 
which that refinement was accompanied. In these points, 
Athenian were the antipodes of Roman habits ; and with 
such essential differences between them, an original Ro- 
man comedy would have been a most valuable production, 
and would iiave given us that insight into the private feel- 
ings and private life of this remarkable people, which is of 
all knowledge the most curious and important. That this, 
however, was not accomplished in the comcedia iogata, the 
indifferent manner in which it is mentioned by the ancients 



228 



POMPEII. 




Comic Scene Irom a Painting at Pompeii. 

will hardly allow us to doubt. Quintilian himself informs 
us that the Latin literature ' was lamest in comedy.' * 

But this lameness was purely metaphorical. So far as 
the activity of the outward man can make up for the slug- 
gishness of the inner, the Roman stage might hear com- 
parison with any other. To the lamenters over the degen- 
eracy of modern taste, it might be some comfort, perhaps, 
to look at the awful list of hard words which Bulinger has 
collected in his erudite treatise ' De Theatro,' and if they 
have courage and perseverance to wade through the eigh- 
teen chapters devoted to explaining them, he will find rea- 
son to believe that an Easter spectacle is at least as ration- 
al and elevated an amusement as a Roman interlude. 
There would be little use in troubling the reader with the 
explanation of petauristse, petaminarii, crotochoreutse, and 
such cacophonous polysyllables ; it is enough that there is 
not a species of extravagance or buffoonery exhibited in 
pantomimes, or elsewhere, during the last fifteen years, — 
not Madame Saqui, II Diavolo Antonio, or the man who 
walked like a fly upon the ceiling of Drury Lane, who 



* The above sketch of the Roman theatre is compressed from 
Schlegel's Lectures on Dramatic Literature, sect. viii. 



THEATRES. 



229 



might not find their performances rivalled, if not anticipat- 
ed, in this catalogue of rope-dancers, tumblers, jugglers, 
merry-andrews, walkers upon stilts, and the like. We 
may mention as a single instance of Roman excellence, 
that elephants were taught to dance on the tight-rope, with 
riders and litters on their back, a feat beyond the powers 
even of the elephant at the Adelphi. 

It is time, however, to return to the buildings them- 
selves ; and we shall first describe the Greek theatre, the 
original model, and afterwards notice those points in which 
the Roman theatre differed from it. Thespis performed 
on a wagon : this was soon succeeded by a moveable 
wooden structure, which was put up and removed when 
required. It is said that the first stone theatre was erect- 
ed in consequence of the wooden building having given 
way under an unusual crowd. However this may be, it 
was erected by Themistocles, not long after the defeat of 
Xerxes, in the seventy-fifth Olympiad. Minute direc- 




Comic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. 

tions, strongly illustrative of the importance of the subject, 
are given for choosing a proper situation. * When the 
Forum is finished, a healthy situation must be sought for, 
wherein the theatre may be erected to exhibit sports on 
the festival days of the immortal gods. For the specta- 
20 



230 



POMPEII. 



tors are detained in their seats by the entertainment of 
the games, and remaining quiet for a long time, their pores 
are opened, and imbibe the draughts of air, which, if they 
come from marshy or otherwise unhealthy places, will pour 
injurious humours into the body. Neither must it front the 
south 5 for when the sun fills the concavity, the inclosed 
air, unable to escape or circulate, is heated, and then ex- 
tracts and dries up the juices of the body. It is also to be 
carefully observed, that the place be not dull (surdus,) but 
one in which the voice may expand as clearly as possible.'* 
It is probable that the natural sweep of some dell, hol- 
lowed out in a hill-side, furnished the original design of a 
theatre ; and the Greeks always availed themselves, if pos- 
sible, of a hill-side, or some locality which lightened the 
labour of the building. At Nyssa the theatre occupies an 
angle in a ravine partially filled up ; and it is said that the 
only instances now known of Grecian theatres built in a 
plain, are those of Mantineia and Megalopolis, and a small 
one in Asia Minor, t The Roman theatres, on the other 
hand, were usually elevated upon arches, wherever a suita- 
ble situation could be found, without regard to economical 
considerations. When the nature of the ground allowed, 
the Greeks hewed seats out of the Hving rock, and perhaps 




Comic Scene from a Painting at Pompeii. 



* Vitruv. V. 3. 
t Stuart's Athens,' vol. iv ; On the Greek Theatre, p. 36. 



THEATRES. 231 

lined them with marble ; when it was of softer materials, 
they excavated to a depth suitable to their purpose, and 
formed rows of stone benches round the hollow. The 
building itself we may divide into two parts — the y^odov^ 
— in Latin, cavea, the part for the audience ; and that 
devoted to the business of the play, which is again sub- 
divided into the o^/7/(7T^a, and (7ki]vi]j the orchestra and 
stage. So far as the former is concerned, the description 
is short and simple, and may serve equally well both for 
Greek and Roman architecture. 

The y^odov was bounded by two concentric circular arcs, 
one of which separated it from the orchestra, the other form- 
ed its extreme outer limit. The Romans seldom suffered 
the arc to exceed a semicircle, or if it did, the excess was 
formed by two straight lines drawn from the ends of the 
semicircle perpendicular to its diameter. The Greeks 
commonly wsed a larger arc, bounded by radii converging 
to the centre. It was composed of a succession of seats, 
rising sufficiently to afford each tier an uninterrupted view, 
divided into two or more flights by dia'QM^aja, or prsecinc- 
tiones, a sort of landing, or broad step, which ran round 
the whole, and facilitated the access from one part to ano- 
ther. These were again sub-divided into negKideg, cunei, 
or wedges, by stairs, ^h^aasg, converging to the centre of 
the orchestra, and leading from the bottom to the top of the 
building. When the theatres were large, there were com- 
monly intermediate staircases, to facilitate the assent to the 
upper and broader portion of these cunei. The lowest 
seats, of course, were the best, and were reserved for the 
magistrates, and those who, by their own or their ances- 
tors' services, had acquired a right (^nQoedgux) to have 
places reserved for them. The Roman arrangement was 
different in this particular, as we shall hereafter notice. 
The whole was surrounded and surmounted by a portico, 
to confine sound and give shelter from a passing storm ; 
the upper line of wall being continued, at the same level,. 



232 



POMPEII. 




to meet the back of the stage, that the voice might spread 
evenly over the whole building, without opportunity to 
escape from one part sooner than from another. Still fur- 
ther to increase the resonance of the voice, brazen vases 
(^/em), resembling bells, were placed in different parts of 
the theatre. It is well known that when two instruments 
in harmony are placed within the sphere of each other's 
influence, if one be struck the other will vibrate the corre- 
sponding chord, and the vibration of the second will of 
course increase and strengthen the sound of the first. 
^ Acting on this principle, which particularly suited the 
recitative in which dramatic compositions were delivered, 



THEATRES. 233 

the ancients had echeia of earth and metal, modulated to 
the intervals of the different notes of the voice, placed in 
small cells under the seats, in one, two, or three rows, ac- 
cording to the extent of the theatre. Hence it resulted 
that the voice, passing from the scene as the centre, ex- 
panded itself all round, and striking the cavity of those 
vases, produced a clearer and more distinct sound by 
means of the consonance of these different modulated 
tones, and extended the powers of the speaker to the ut- 
most limits of the cavea. The vases were in the shape 
of a bell, placed in an inverted position, the side towards 
the audience resting on a pedestal not less than half a foot 
high, in all other respects quite free from contact ; and in 
order to allow the vibration of the sound, a small aperture 
was left in the front of the seat, about two feet long and 
half a foot high. It is remarkable that no writer has been 
able to adduce an existing example in confirmation of the 
principles, for the echeia and their cells, laid down by 
Vitruvius.'* The Roman architect lays down minute and 
abstruse rules for their arrangement, depending entirely 
on mathematical and musical principles, unintelligible with- 
out considerable acquaintance with both sciences, and sub-. 
ject to be misunderstood even by the most learned. The 
wonder that none of them have been found, is partly ex- 
plained by Vitruvius himself, from whom we learn that 
they were far from being universally used. ' It may be 
said that many theatres are built yearly at Rome, in none 
of which are these contrivances used. But all public 
theatres have many boarded surfaces, which resound by 
nature. We may observe this from singers, who, when 
they wish to raise a loud note, turn to the doors of the 
scene, and thus receive a help to their voice. But when 
the theatres are built of solid materials, as stone or marble, 
which are not sonorous, then these methods are to be em- 

* Stuart's ' Athens,' vol. iv ; On the Greek Theatre, p. 39. 
20* 



234 POMPEII. 

ployed. If it is asked in what theatre they are made use 
of, we have none at Rome ; but in different parts of Italy, 
and in the Greek provinces, there are several. We have 
also the authority of L. Mummius, who destroyed the thea- 
tre of Corinthj and brought the brazen vases to Rome, and 
dedicated them in the temple of Luna. And many skilful 
architects, who build theatres in small towns, use earthen 
ware vases, to save expense, which, when properly arrang- 
ed, have an excellent effect. '"^ It is said that a very com- 
plete example of these echeian chambers has been dis- 
covered at the theatre of Scythopolis, in Syria, by W. 
Bankes, Esq. 

The rest of the building is not quite so easily disposed 
of The orchestra, or dancing station, from ogxeo/um, to 
dance, we have already said was bounded towards the 
audience by a circular arc. Suppose the circle complet- 
ed, and a square inscribed in it, the side of the square 
farthest from the audience fixes the position of the front of 
the stage. A tangent to the circle, drawn parallel to this 
side, determines the depth of the stage. The position of 
the stair-cases is determined by the angles of two other 
squares inscribed in the circle. Again, draw a diameter 
through the centre of the orchestra, parallel to this side of 
the square, and from each end of it, with radius equal to 
the diameter of the orchestra, describe a portion of a cir- 
cle, cutting the side of the square produced. Thus, by 
this delineation of the orchestra about three centres, greater 
breadth was given both to it and the stage, which is a shal- 
low platform, elevated ten or twelve feet, behind which rose 
the Gv.Tjvri, or scene, a lofty wall, which terminated the 
spectators' view, usually adorned with architectural de- 
signs, but susceptible of variation, to suit the plot of the 
drama to be performed. Opposite to the centre of the 
stage stood the thymele. The real meaning of this term 

* Vitruv. V. 5. 



THEATRES. 235 

m very doubtful. Bulinger appears to designate by it all 
that part of the orchestra which the chorus actually occu- 
pied. Others say that it was an altar, on which sacrifices 
were offered to Dionysius. Pollux describes it ambigu- 
ously, as ^an altar or raised platform for speaking.'* It 
appears, according to the best opinion we can form among 
conflicting authorities, to have been an elevated platform 
in front of the stage, approached by steps, and very pro- 
bably containing an altar, on which the coryphaeus, the 
spokesman, or leader of the chorus took his stand, when it 
was not singing, in an intermediate situation between the 
stage and his comrades, so as, without mixing in the ac- 
tion, to be ready to take his share in the dialogue. The 
rest of the chorus took their station, and performed their 
evolutions, in the orchestra, where lines were drawn on 
the floor, to mark their station. They seem not to have 
ranged over the whole area, in which case they would often 
have been concealed from a great part of the spectators, 
by the basement wall of the Ttodov, The space to which 
their motions did not extend, is called Tioi^iarga^ the arena, 
or place of sand ; but we know not its precise limit, nor 
whether the rest of the orchestra was elevated above it. 
The whole area was kept scrupulously clear of spectators, 
the Greeks considering that the presence of a single per- 
son would impede the equable diffusion of sound. The 
chorus did not enter over the stage, but by passages which 
led from behind the scene, under part of the auditory. In 
tragedy it usually contained fifteen persons, and entered 
and took its station either in three rows of five each, or in 
five rows of three : in comedy it consisted of twenty-four 
members, and was ranged in ranks of four, or six. Usu- 
ally it remained in the orchestra during the whole piece ; 
but sometimes it withdrew. It was preceded and regulat- 
ed by a flute-player. Sometimes it divided itself into two 

* Lib. iv, 19. 



236 FOMPEII. 

parts, called i\uixoQia^ semi-chomsses, which ranged them- 
selves on opposite sides of the orchestra, and took part in 
the dialogue, each by its o\^ti cor}'phoeus. 

We now come to the cry-j^rj;, the most complicated and 
obscure division of the theatre. The stage, we have said, 
was elevated ten or twelve feet above the orchestra ; the 
wall, which supported it, was called inoay.r^nov, and was 
reUeved by statues, pillars, and other architectural orna- 
ments. Some consider all that was under the staore, or 
the whole stage itself, comprised in this term; * but it 
seems almost hopeless to ascertain satisfactorily the exact 
meaning of this, or several other technical words. Very 
probably the terms remained the same while the construc- 
tion varied ; and another reason for the confusion which 
exists may be found in the practice of translating Greek 
words into Latin words, which were already apphed to the 
Roman theatre, but to parts not exactly identical with those 
of the Greek. The stage itself was, as we have said, a 
broad shallow platform, called by the Greeks '/.oyetor, or 
TTQoaxr^viov, by the Romans pulpitura. Behind it rose the 
scene. The word ^Qouyipiov again is of doubtful signifi- 
cation. Schlegel describes it as a recess in the central 
part of the scene. Bulinger says that ^ in Greece, the 
scene was higher than the proscene, and the proscene 
than the pulpitum (the thyraele, that is), which stood in 
the orchestra.' By A itruvius, it seems to be used for the 
whole space in front of the scene, as its etymology would 
indicate, and we inchne to think this most extended signi- 
fication of the word correct. In this case the proscenium 
may be divided into three parts, the )>oyeioi\ the narrow 
portion opposite the centre of the scene where the actors 
stood and spoke, and two broader portions, at either end,- 
which extended from the scene to the seats of the specta- 
tors. In front of the stage was a recess in the floor meant 

* See Bulinger and Stuart's Athens, toI. iv. 



THEATRES. 237 

to contain a curtain, which was drawn up previous to the 
performance, to conceal the scene. A flight of steps, 
called xh^axTTiQeg^ led up from the thymele to the stage, 
not for the use of the chorus, who never quitted their 
proper station in the orchestra, but for the characters of 
the play, who, when they were supposed to come from a 
distance, often entered by the orchestra. There was also 
a flight of steps concealed under the seats of the specta- 
tors, called Charon's staircase {^Xagmviov y.U^ay.sg^^ by 
which ghosts entered, and proceeded up the thymele to 
the stage. 

The scene, as we have said, was a wall, which rose to 
the level of the portico surrounding the aodov. Its width 
was double the diameter of the orchestra. ^ There are 
threa kinds of scenes, each different and dissimilar to the 
other. The tragic is composed of pillars, pediments, 
statues, and other princely ornaments. The comic has 
the appearance of private houses, with windows, &c. 
The satyric is ornamented with trees, caves, mountains, 
and other rustic objects, to resemble a landscape.'* 
^ There are three doors in the scene, f the centre one 
representing a palace, a cavern, or whatever is the proper 
entrance for the chief character of the piece. The se- 
cond character enters through the right-hand door ; that 
on the left, which belongs to the least important person, 
is a ruined temple, or a solitary view. In tragedy, the 
right-hand door belongs to guests ; the left is a prison.' 
In front of the central door stood an altar, dedicated to 
Apollo Agyieus, presiding over ways. There were also 
entrances at the side, and, as we have said, in the orches- 

* Vitruv. V. 8. 

t There were also five doors in the scenes of some theatres, the 
rnins of which exist in Greece. The scene of one of these is not 
less than two hundred and fifty feet in length, five times longer than 
the scene of the theatre of San Carlo at Naples, the largest modern 
theatre in Europe. 



238 POMPEII. 

tra. This appropriation of particular entrances to parti- 
cular people was facilitated by the small number of cha- 
racters usually introduced in tragedy. The actors rarely 
crossed each other on the stage, but remained where they 
first came on. By this arrangement the business of the 
piece was always carried on in the open air, usually in the 
vestibule of a palace, or before a temple ; but often, as in 
the Prometheus or Philoctetes, among the grandest ob- 
jects of nature. This practice, not without its inconsist- 
encies and inconveniences, was rendered necessary by 
the habits of the Greeks, who, like most southern nations, 
lived much in the open air, and admitted strangers very 
sparingly into their houses. They had contrivances, how- 
ever, by which the interior could be represented if neces- 
sary. These doors led into a room behind the scene 
{nuQu(jy.i]Viov) in which those incidents were supposed to 
take place, which the genius of the drama did not allow 
to be exhibited to view, as the murder of Clytemnestra in 
the Choephoroi, or of Agamemnon, when his dying excla- 
mations are heard from within. The recesses, if we may 
so call them, at each end of the stage, were occupied partly 
by a frame consisting of three scenes, revolving on a pi- 
vot, thence called negmxTogj suitably ornamented, behind 
which there were lateral transverse entrances, through 
which messengers or travellers, or sometimes sea and 
river gods, were introduced on the stage. Behind the 
scene spacious porticos, sometimes enclosing gardens, 
were erected, for the audience to retire to if sudden rain 
should interrupt the shows, and also as a convenient place 
for the chorus to rehearse their part. 

Such was the construction of the Greek stage ; inferior 
to the modern stage in the illusions produced by perspec- 
tive, and by the exquisite skill which has raised scene- 
painting from a term of reproach to an important branch 
of art ; inferior in splendour of decoration, so far as the 
gorgeous processions, and the crowds of mutes and dan- 



THEATRES. 239 

cers with which we love to crowd the boards, deserve the 
name of decorations ; above all, inferior, according to our 
notions, in the style of acting to which their observances 
confined them. Yet, never was there more enthusiasm 
displayed in favour of theatrical amusements than at 
Athens. The wealthy choragi, at whose expense the 
decorations were provided, the chorus trained and re- 
hearsed, and the whole piece brought out, vied with each 
other in magnificence as eagerly as did the authors in 
poetic excellence ; and the same tripod which recorded 
that Phrynichus gained the prize, bore testimony also that 
his success was partly owing to the liberality and taste of 
Themistocles. In truth, the spectacle, though somewhat 
stiff and formal, and partaking, as Schlegel has observed, 
somewhat of the nature of a bas-relief, was of a grand 
and elevating character ; and where the nature of the 
piece was favourable to such display, left nothing to be 
wished for on the score of simple magnificence. The 
opening of the (Edipus Tyrannus, where a multitude of 
citizens knelt in supplication before the altar in the palace 
vestibule 5 or the scene in Prometheus, where the Titan, 
chained among the rocks of Caucasus, is visited by the 
fifty air-borne daughters of Ocean, or the conclusion, 
where, unterrified by the threats of Hermes, or the anger 
of Zeus, they crowd round him, resolute not to abandon 
their friend, while the earth quakes, the lightnings flash 
thick around them, and conflicting winds mingle air and 
sea, might probably compare, for mere effect, with the 
most successful productions of modern machinists. Nor 
were the Greeks unskilled in the use of stage machinery. 
There was the eyy.vxhi^ia, or s^MaTQ(x, intended to remedy 
the inconvenience of conducting all the action of the piece 
in the open air, by representing the interior of edifices, 
and transactions passing in them. It appears to have 
been a revolving portion of the scene, level, and seemingly 
a solid part of it, or presenting a recess capable of contain- 



240 POMPEII. 

ing at least one actor, as one side or the other was pre- 
sented to the audience. Thus in the Acharnians, just 
before the passage above quoted, DicseopoHsj on present- 
ing himself before the house of Euripides, is informed that 
the poet cannot be seen. ' Euripides/ he exclaims, ' Eu- 
ripides I' ^ I have no time,' is the answer. ^ At least 
turn round to me.' ' It is impossible.' ' Only this fa- 
vour.' ' Well, I will turn round, but I have not time to 
descend ; ' and the encyclema, turning round, shows hira 
seated upon the first floor.=^ Different from this was the 
£iazv'Ar]jiia, or rolling platform for sea-gods. Many oth- 
er contrivances are named without being described, as 
q)QvxTO)Qiov, the beacon tower, raised probably above the 
scene, required in the Agamemnon ; y.eQawocrxoTtstov, a 
lofty machine to produce lightning ; ^qovtblov^ a vessel 
filled with stones, and rolled along sheets of brass, to imi- 
tate thunder ; yeqavog^ and aiuqai^ the crane and ropes by 
which actors were borne into the air ; deoloyeiov^ the sky 
platform, on which the celestial deities appeared aloft ; 
fir]/avr]^ the machine by which they descended ; with others 
to facilitate their appearance from above, or the assent of 
the infernal gods and spirits from below. 

With so excitable and impetuous an audience as the 
Athenians the task of an actor was by no means easy. 
Their theatre, as we have said, was open to the whole 
people, however poor, for originally the performances were 
gratuitous ; and when a price was charged for admission 
it was furnished from the public funds to any person who 
applied for it. In the time of Plato it would hold about 
thirty thousand persons ; and this immense audience ex- 
pressed their satisfaction, or still more their displeasure, 
with an energy, compared to which the first night of a new 
piece is decorum. Not content with hooting and pelting 
with figs and apples, the legitimate expression of theatrical 

* Acharn. 406. 



THEATRES. 241 

opinion in all ages, they sometimes compelled an unlucky 
actor to take off his mask, drove him from the stage, and 
summoned another to supply his place. That -Eschines 
had been an actor, and a bad one, is one of the things 
objected to him by Demosthenes in the celebrated oration 
for the crown. ' You played a third-rate part, and I 
hooted you. You were driven from the stage ; and I 
hissed.' Again : ' You hired yourself out to actors, to 
play third-rate parts, collecting figs, grapes, and olives, 
like a fruit-seller, from other men's orchards, receiving 
more wounds thus than in the conflicts which you, Athen- 
ians, have waged concerning your lives ; for between you 
and your audience there was truceless, irreconcilable war. 
Therefore, having taken many wounds at their hands, you 
may justly mock those as cowards who are untried in such 
dangers.'^ The profits of the stage were enormous, though 
the profession was not in high repute. Polus, a celebrat- 
ed Greek actor, is said to have sometimes made a talent 
(about 225/) in two days. At Rome, also, the profession 
was lucrative. Roscius and ^sopus, the most celebrated 
of Roman actors, are known to have amassed vast wealth. 
In the Roman theatre, the construction of the orchestra 
and stage was different. The former was still bounded 
towards the cavea by a semicircle. Complete the circle, 
draw the diameters BB, HH, perpendicular to each oth- 
er, and inscribe four equi lateral triangles, whose vertices 
shall fall severally upon the ends of the diameters ; the 
twelve angles of the triangles will divide the circumference 
into twelve equal ^jortions. The side of the triangle oppo- 
site to the angle at B will be parallel to the diameter HH, 
and determines the place of the scene, as HH determines 
the front of the stage, or pulpitum. By this construction 
the stage is brought neaier to the audience, and made 
considerably deeper than in the Greek theatre, its depth 

* Demosth. de Corona, p. 200 ; Schacfer. 
21 



242 



POMPEII. 




Plan of the Roman Theatre. 



being determined at a quarter of the diameter of the or- 
chestra, which itself was usually a third, or somewhat more, 
of the diameter of the whole building. The length of the 
stage was twice the diameter of the orchestra. The in- 
creased depth of the stage was rendered necessary by the 
greater number of persons assembled on it ; the chorus 
and musicians being placed here by the Romans. A 
further consequence of the construction is, that the circum- 
ference of the cavea could not exceed one hundred and 
eighty degrees. Sometimes, however, the capacity of 
the theatre was increased by throwing the stage further 
back, and continuing the seats in right lines perpendicular 
to the diameter of the orchestra. This is the case in the 
great theatre at Pompeii. Within the orchestra were cir- 
cular ranges of seats for the senate and other distinguish- 
ed persons, leaving a level platform in the centre. The 
seven angles which fall within the circumference of the 
orchestra mark the places at which staircases up to the 
first prgecinctio, or landing, were to be placed ; those 
leading from thence to the second, if there were more 



THEATRES. ^43 

than one, were placed intermediately opposite to the cen- 
tre of each cuneus. The number of staircases, whether 
seven, five, or three, of course depended on the size of 
the theatre. In the great theatres of Rome, the space 
between the orchestra and first praecinctio, usually consist- 
ing of fourteen seats, was reserved for the equestrian or- 
der, tribunes, &.c : all above these were the seats of the 
plebeians. Women were appointed by Augustus to sit in 
the portico, which encompassed the whole. The lowest 
range of seats was raised above the area of the orchestra 
one-sixth of its diameter : the height of each seat is direct- 
ed not to exceed one foot four inches, nor to be less than 
one foot three. The breadth is not to exceed two feet 
four inches, nor to be less than one foot ten. The stage, 
to consult the convenience of those who sit in the orches- 
tra, is only elevated five feet, less than half the height 
given to the Grecian stage. The five angles of the trian- 
gles not yet disposed of determine the disposition of the 
scene. Opposite the centre one are the regal doors ; on 
each side are those by which the secondary characters 
entered. Behind the scene, as in the Greek theatre, there 
were apartments for the actors to retire into, and the whole 
was usually surrounded with porticos and gardens. The 
square at Pompeii, called the soldiers' quarters, appears 
to have been an appendage to the great theatre. These 
buildings, being under cover, served better for the pur- 
poses of rehearsal than the open stage. A very beautiful 
mosaic has been found in a house in Pompeii, represent- 
ing the Choragus, ^ or master of the chorus, instructing 
his actors in their parts. He is represented as sitting on 
a chair in the Choragium, or place devoted to these rehear- 
sals, surrounded by performers : at his feet, on a stool, 

* The Romans termed Choragus the person whom the Greeks 
named Chorodidascalus, the maitre dii ballet. The Choragus, in 
the proper sense of the word, was the person at whose expense the 
chorus and decorations were provided. 



244 



POMPEII. 



are the various masks which were used ; another is behind 
him, on a pedestal ; these he seems about to distribute. 
One of the actors, assisted by another, is putting his arms 
through the sleeves of a thick shaggy tunic ; while the 
Choragus appears to be addressing him who has lifted his 




THEATRES. 245 

mask, that he may show by the expression of his counte- 
nance his attention to what is being said. En the middle 
of the picture is a female, crowned with a wreath, playing 
on the double flute, or perhaps tuning the instrument. 
Two of the figures are merely covered round the loins 
with goat skins. Behind the figures are represented the 
Ionic columns of the portico, with its entablature ; above 
this is a kind of gallery, decorated with figures and vases ; 
and garlands are also hung, in festoons, between the col- 
umns. This mosaic is composed of very fine pieces of 
glass, * and is esteemed one of the most beautiful that has 
yet been discovered. 

The earliest theatres at Rome, as at Athens, were mere 
temporary buildings of wood, removed when the immediate 
occasion for them was over. Stage-plays, as we have said, 
were first introduced a.m. 391. For two hundred years 
the Romans continued satisfied with standing-room ; for, 
in the year 599, the Censors Valerius Messala, and Caius 
Cassus, wishing to build a permanent theatre, were prevent- 
ed by the senate, at the instance of Scipio Nasica; and at 
the same time an order was made that no person should 
provide seats at public spectacles within a mile of the city, 
^ that the manly habit of standing, combined with mental 
relaxation, might be the peculiar mark of the Roman peo- 
ple ;' or, according to Tacitus, ' lest, if the people sat, 
whole days might be spent in idleness.' i Mummius, the 
destroyer of Corinth, transported the furniture of the Co- 
rinthian theatre to Rome, and, at his triumph, represented 
plays in the Grecian manner, for the first time, about the 
year 610. The first permanent theatre was built by Pom- 

* Until lately it was supposed that the small and fine mosaics 
found at Pompeii were made of stone, but it has since been ascer- 
tained that they are made of glass, in a similar manner, and with 
similar materials, to the modern Roman mosaics now so celebrated, 
t Val. Max. lib. ii, 4; Tacit. Ann. xiv, 20. 

21* 



246 POMPEII. 

pey, and finished in 699. Up to that time, the aediles, or 
other persons who exhibited theatrical amusements, con- 
structed edifices on purpose, at an enormous expense, and 
with such splendour as would have seemed meant to hand 
down the name and magnificence of the founder to the lat- 
est posterity, instead of serving merely for a passing pa- 
geant. But money lightly earned is generally prodigally 
spent ; and extreme magnificence in works of ornament is 
seldom consistent with the happiness of those at whose 
expense in reality they are constructed. The immense 
wealth which supplied these costly entertainments was the 
firuit of unjust conquest, or the spoils of subject provinces, 
and was thus prodigally lavished merely to obtain favour 
in the people's eyes, and procure other and more lucrative 
appointments. Celebrated above all others are the thea- 
tres of Scaurus and Curio, which are minutely described 
by Pliny, and will show how far the prodigality and splen- 
dour of ancient Rome surpassed all that modern extrava- 
gance has ventured, or modern means supplied. 

' Howbeit, as sumptuous in this kind as either C. Cali- 
gula or Nero was, yet shall they not enjoy even the glorie 
of this fame; for I will shew that all this pride and excesse 
of theirs in building their pallaces (princes though they 
were and mighty monarchs) came behind the privat workes 
of M. Scaurus, whose example in his ^dileship was of so 
ill consequence, as I wot not whether ever there were any- 
thing that overthrew so much all gord manners and order- 
lie civilite ; in such sort, as hard it is to say whether Sylla 
did more damage to the state in having a sonne in law* 
so rich and mightie, than by the proscription of so many 
thousand Romane citizens. And in truth, this Scaurus, 
when he was ^dile, caused a wonderfull peece of worke 
to be made, and exceeding all that had ever been knowne 
wrought by man's hand, not only those that have been 

* Sylla married the mother of Scaams. 



THEATRES. 247 

erected for a month or such a thing, but even those that 
have been destined for a perpetuitie; and a theatre it was: 
the scene had three stories, one above another, wherein 
were three hundred and threescore columnes of marble (a 
strange and admirable sight in that citie, which in times 
past could not endure six small pillars of marble, hewed 
out of the quarry in Mount Hymettus, in the house of a 
most honourable personage, * without a great reproach 
and rebuke given unto him for it) ; the base and the nether- 
most part of the scene was all of marble, the middle of 
glasse (an excessive superfluitie, never heard of before or 
after) ; as for the uppermost, the boards, plankes, and 
floores were guilded ; the columnes beneath were fortie 
foot high, wanting twaine ; and between these columnes 
(as I have shewed before) there stood of statues and ima- 
ges in brasse to the number of three thousand. The thea- 
tre itself was able to receive fourscore thousand persons, 
to sit well and at ease. | Whereas the compass of Pom- 
peii's Amphitheatre (notwithstanding the citie of Rome, so 
much enlarged and more peopled in his time) was devised 
for to containe no greater number than fortie thousand 
seats at large. As touching the other furniture of this 
theatre of Scaurus, in rich hangings, which were cloth 
of gold ; pictures, plaiers' aparell, and other stufTe meet 
for to adorne the stage, there was such abundance there- 
of, that there being carried backe to his house of pleasure 
at Tusculum the surplusage thereof, over and above the 
daintiest part, whereof he had daily use at Rome, liis ser- 
vants and slaves there, upon indignation of this wast and 
monstrous superfluities of their maister, set the said coun- 
trey house on fire, and burnt as much as came to a hun- 

* L. Crassus. 

t We may more than suspect error here. It is calculated that, 
to contain this nuiriber, the theatre must have been 700 feet in 
diameter — ei«^hty feet more than the greatest dianieter of the Coli- 
seum. 



248 Pompeii. 

dred million of sesterces.* Certes, when I consider and 
behold the monstrous humours of these prodigall spirits, 
my mind is drawne away still from the progresse of mine 
intended journie, and forced I am to digresse out of my 
way, and to annex unto this vanitie of Scaurus as great 
foilie of another, not in masonrie or marble, but in carpen- 
trie and timber : and C. Curio it was, bee who in the civile 
warres between Caesar and Pompey, lost his life in the 
quarrell of Caesar. This gentleman, desirous to shew 
pleasure unto the people of Rome at the funeral of his 
father deceased, as the manner then was, and seeing that 
he could not outgoe Scaurus in rich and sumptuous furni- 
ture (for where should he have had such a father-in-law 
againe as Sylla ? Where could he have found the like 
mother to Dame Metella ? who had her share in all for- 
feitures and confiscations of the goods of outlawed citizens.'* 
And where was it possible for him to meet with such ano- 
ther father as M. Scaurus, the principall person of the 
whole citie so long together, who parted stakes with Ma- 
rius in pilling and polling of the provinces, and was the 
very receptacle and gulfe which received and swallowed all 
their spoils and pillage?) And Scaurus himselfe verily, if 
he might have had all the goods in the world, could not 
have done as he did before, nor make the like theatre 
againe, by reason that his house at Tusculum was burnt, 
where the costly and rich furniture, the goodliest rare orna- 
ments which he had gotten together from all parts of the 
world, were consumed to ashes ; by which fire yet this 
good he got, and prerogative above all other, — that no 
man ever after him was able to match that sumptuositie of 
his theatre. 

' This gentleman (I say) Curio, all things considered, 
was put to his shifts and devised to surpass Scaurus in wit, 
since he could not come neare him in wealth. And what 

* Upwards of 80,000/. 



THEATRES. 249 

might his invention bee ? Certes it is worth the knowl- 
edge, if there were no more but this, that we may have 
joy of our owne concerts and fashions, and call ourselves 
worthily as our manner is Majores, =^ that is to say, supe- 
rior every way to all others. To come then to C. Curio, 
and his cunning devise, he caused two theatres to be fram- 
ed of timber, and those exceeding big, howbeit so as they 
might bee turned about as a man would have them approach 
neare one to the other, or be removed farther asunder as one 
would desire, and all by the means of one hinge a piece. 
Now he ordered the matter thus ; that to behold the sev- 
erall stage plaies, and sliewes in the forenoone before din- 
ner, they should be set backe to backe, to the end that the 
stages should not trouble one another : and when the peo- 
ple had taken their pleasure that way, hee turned the thea- 
tres about in a trice against the aflernoone, that they af- 
fronted one another : insomuch, as by the meeting of the 
homes or corners of them both together in compasse, he 
made a fair round amphitheatre of it ; and there in the 
middest betweene, he exhibited indeed unto them all joint- 
ly, a sight and spectacle of sword-fencers fighting at 
sharpe, whom he had hired for that purpose : but in truth, 
a man may say more truly, that he carried the whole peo- 
ple of Rome round about at his pleasure, bound sure ynough 
for stirring or remooving. Now let us come to the point, 
and consider a little better of this thing. What should a 
man wonder at most therein, the deviser or the devise it- 
selfe } The workeman of this fabricke, or the maister that 
him on worke ? Whether of the twaine is more admirea- 
ble, either the venterous head of him that devised it, or the 
bold heart of him that undertooke it ? to command such a 
thing to be done, or to obey and yield to goe in hand with 
it } But when we have said all that we can, the follie of 

* The Romans delighted much in this word, Maiores, as may 
appear by their More Majorum, &c. Holland. 



250 POMPEII. 

the blind and bold people of Rome went beyond all ; who 
trusted such a ticklish frame, and durst sit there in a seat 
so moveable. Loe where a man might have seen the 
bodie of that people, which is commander and ruler of the 
whole earth, the conquerour of the world, the disposer of 
kingdoms and realms at their pleasure, the divider of coun- 
tries and nations at their will, the giver of lawes to forraine 
states, the vicegerent of the immortall gods under heaven, 
and representing their image unto all mankind : hanging 
in the air witnin a frame, rejoicing and readie to clap 
hands at their owne daunger. What a cheape market of 
men's lives was here toward ! What was the loss at Can- 
nae to this hazard, that they should complaine so much as 
they doe of Cannae ? How neare unto a mischeife were 
they, which might have happened hereby in the turning of 
a hand ? Certes, when there is newes come of a cittie 
swallowed up by a wide chinke and opening of the earth, 
all men generally in a publicke commiseration doe greeve 
thereat, and there is not one but his heart doth yearne ; 
and yet, behold the universal state and people of Rome, 
as if they were put into a couple of barkes, supported be- 
tweene heaven and earth, and sitting at the devotion onely 
of two hinges. And what spectacle doe they behold, a 
number of fencers trying it out with unrebated swords ? 
nay, ywis, but even themselves rather entered into a most 
desperat fight, and at the point to breake their necks every 
mother's son, if the scaffold failed never so little, and the 
frame went out of joint : and by this hanging of the tribes 
in the air is favour carried at the election for tribunes. 
What a mightie man with them might bee bee (thinke you) 
preaching unto them from the Rostra ? What would not 
he dare to propose, having audience in that public place 
before them, who could persuade them thus as he did, to 
sit upon such turning and ticklish theatres. And in truth, 
if we will consider this pageant upright, we must needs 
confesse and may be bold to say, that Curio had all the 



THEATRES. 251 

people of Rome to performe a brave skirmish and combat 
indeed to honour and solemnize the funerals of his father 
before his tombe. And yet here is not all : for he was 
at his chaunge and varietie of magnificent shewes : and 
when he perceived once that thehookes of his frame were 
stretched ynough and began to be out of order, bee kept 
them still close together round in forme of a perfect am- 
phitheatre, and the very last day of his funerall solemni- 
ties, upon two stages just in the middest, he represented 
wrestlers and other champions to performe their devoire, 
and then all on a suddaine, causing the said stages to be 
disjoined and haled one from another a contrary way, he 
brought forth the same day the fencers and sword players 
who had woon the prize, and with that shew made an end 
of all. See what Curio was able to doe ! and yet was 
he neither king nor Kesar: he was not so much as a gene- 
rall or commaunder of an armie ; nay bee was not named 
for any great rich man : as whose principall state depend- 
ed upon this, that when the great men of the citie, Caesar 
and Pompey, were skuffling together by the eares, bee 
knew well how to fish in a troubled water.' ^ 

The first permanent theatre was constructed by Pom- 
pey, after he returned from Asia, at the close of the Mith- 
ridatic war. Plutarch says, that, stopping at Mitylene, 
on his way home, he attended some dramatic representa- 
tions there, and was so much struck with the building, that 
he determined to erect one on the same plan, but with 
greater splendour, at Rome. It was not completed until 
his second consulship, in the year 699; and even in that 
luxurious age, either the ancient jealousy of permanent 
theatres still remained, or he was afraid of raising envy, 
and prejudicing his popularity, by giving his own name to 
so magnificent and proud a structure ; for he built a tem- 
ple of Venus Victrix, the Conqueress, at the highest part 

* Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxiii, 24. 



252 POMPEII. 

of the cavea, and dedicated the whole to her, stating in the 
edict by which he summoned the citizens to the dedication, 
that he had built a temple to Venus, ' under which,' he 
said, ' I have placed tiers of seats, to behold spectacles.' 
It would contain 40,000 spectators. Subjoined to this 
building, and as it were a part of the establishment, were 
his own house, a portico, basilica, and curia. It was in 
the latter that Caesar was slain, after which it was shut up. 
It was splendidly ornamented with statues by eminent ar- 
tists ; among them were the images of fourteen nations, 
those, perhaps, whom he claimed to have conquered. 
Near it, in later times, stood a remarkable colossal statue 
of Jupiter, erected by the Emperor Claudius. Being 
injured by fire in the reign of Tiberius, it was repaired by 
Caligula, and was again burnt, and restored by Claudius. 
It was burnt a third time in the reign of Titus. Nero 
gilded the scene, the theatre, and every thing employed 
in the performance, to make an exhibition of his magnifi- 
cence to a royal visitor, Teridates, king of Armenia ; the 
very awning was purple, studded with golden stars, repre- 
senting the heavens, and in the centre was an embroidered 
representation of himself, as the sun guiding his chariot. 
The next permanent theatre was built by Augustus, and 
named by him after his favourite, Marcellus, who died be- 
fore it was completed. It stood on the declivity of the 
Capitol, near the Tarpeian rock, on the spot where Julius 
Caesar had proposed to build one of surpassing magnitude. 
It is called by Ovid the marble theatre, either from being 
built of that material, or because four columns, of remark- 
able size, taken from the atrium of Scaurus's house, stood 
in it. Vitruvius is generally reported to have been the 
architect of this building, which would contain 30,000 per- 
sons. A third theatre was built by Cornelius Balbus, at 
the instance of Augustus. These three all stood in the 
neighbourhood of the Circus Flamrnius ; traces of them 
still remain, which will be found in the map of ancient 



THEATRES. 253 

Rome. We do not read of any more separate theatres 
being built ; but they were sometimes placed as append- 
ages to the magnificent Thermae, which about this time it 
became the fashion to construct. 

To roof these vast areas was probably beyond the archi- 
tectural skill of the Romans, nor, if thus covered, could 
they well have been properly and sufficiently lighted. 
Smaller theatres, however, were sometimes roofed, as was 
the lesser one at Pompeii ; and the celebrated Herodes 
Atticus built two roofed theatres, one at Athens, the other 
at Corinth ; this, however, was at a much later period. 
Originally, the Romans defended themselves from the sun 
by broad brimmed hats, called causise, or pilei Thessalici ; 
and from the rain by. mantles or hoods. It was the Cam- 
panians, who carried to the highest pitch every refinement 
of luxury, who first devised the means of covering their 
theatres with awnings, by means of cords stretched across 
the cavea, and attached to masts which passed through 
perforated blocks of stone, deeply bedded in the solid wall. 
But we shall treat this subject more fully in the chapter 
which relates to amphitheatres. 

We now proceed to describe the quarter of the theatres, 
which is inferior only to that of the forum in the variety 
and beauty of its buildings. As the latter was especially 
dedicated to business, so was the former to pleasure ; and 
we here find ample provision made for the gratification of 
the citizens, not only by dramatic entertainments, but by 
spacious porticos, and large areas, which probably were 
planted and adorned with flowers. It was in such places 
as these, under the shade of colonnades, or in the open 
air, as the weather might invite, in each other's company, 
that the Italians loved to take the mild exercise which suit- 
ed the climate ; or when they engaged in more violent 
exercise, it was in athletic games, or similar pursuits : to 
take a walk, in the English acceptation of the term, was a 
thing that no one ever thought of doing for pleasure. The 
22 



254 POMPEII. 

theatres themselves, of course, are small and plain, com- 
pared with those magnificent edifices at Rome, which we 
have described ; yet they bear the remains of considerable 
magnificence, and the larger at least would be considered 
of great size in any modern capital. The approach to 
them must have combined convenience and beauty in no 
common degree. Just at the point where the two routes 
from the forum unite, there stands a propyleum, or vesti- 
bule, of eight Ionic columns in Jlntis^ raised upon two 
steps, one foot nine inches in diameter, and thirteen feet 
four inches high. In the mouldings of the entablature an 
artifice has been employed by the architect, to produce an 
effect as if black lines had been painted. This is done 
by cutting deep narrow lines under the projecting mould- 
ings, allowing of no reflection, and consequently produc- 
ing a sharp and black shadow. In front of one of the 
columns is a fountain, that never-absent article of Pom- 
peian comfort, supplied with water through a mask sculp- 
tured in stone. A marble basin or patera is also attached 
to one of the columns of the portico, facing you as you 
enter, which was fed by pipes carried up through the cen- 
tre of the column. In this vestibule some articles of gold 
and silver were found, together with an emerald ring. 
This leads into an extensive colonnade of the Doric or- 
der ; between the pillars of which were iron bars, to con- 
fine the crowd within them. It is not completely cleared 
out, and the dimensions, therefore, not accurately known ; 
but in form it is triangular, and the greater side appears to 
have been about 450 feet in length, and the other two 
about 250 or 300 feet. Within this ample area are the 
remains of a sacred edifice, called, from its style of archi- 
tecture, the Greek temple, otherwise the temple of Her- 
cules. This, from its size, arrangement, and style of art, 
is one of the most important buildings in Pompeii. The 
Count de Clarac * dates its erection about eight hundred 

* See Pompeii, par le Conte de Clarac. 



THEATRES. 255 

years before the Christian sera ; and if this remote anti- 
quity can be maintained, it is one of the most ancient speci- 
mens existing of Grecian art, and must have been erected 
by some of the earhest Grecian colonists. It is in a very 
dilapidated state ; the few indications that can be relied on 
seem to prove that it had an entire peristyle of columns, 
three feet ten inches and a half in diameter, diminishing 
at the top to three feet, and about four and a half diame- 
ters, or seventeen feet six inches high, comprising seven 
columns on the north-west, and south-east fronts, and 
eleven on each of the sides. The intercolumniations are 
one diameter and two-ninths. This is one of the few in- 
stances of an ancient building having an uneven number 
of columns in front, and consequently an odd one in the 
centre ; another instance occurs in the basilica of Psestum. 
The capitals belong to the Grecian Doric ; the abacus, or 
flat stone at the top, is four feet eleven inches square, and 
the whole capital peculiar, inasmuch as the stone out of 
which it is worked includes no part of the shaft. Its great 
depth (one foot ten inches and a quarter) and bold projec- 
tion indicate a very ancient character ; ^ and the masonry 
has been covered with fine stucco. The cell appears to 
have been divided into several compartments, paved with 
mosaic, and there seem to have been two entrances from 
the portico, one on each side of the centre column. The 
whole building stands upon a podium or basement, raised 
five steps above the level of the ground. In front there 
is a further flight of five steps ; these are entire, but much 
worn. The total length of the building, including the po- 
dium, but not the flight of steps, is about 120, its breadth 
about 70 feet. Before the steps is an enclosure, supposed 
to have been a pen to contain victims, and by its side two 
altars. A little further oflT stands a small monopteral build- 

*Gell, p. 241. 



^5G POMPEII. 

ing, of the Doric order, covering a puteal, or well, from 
which the water required in the temple was drawn. Other- 
wise it has been called a bidental, or locus fulminatus, a 
spot where a thunderbolt has fallen. Such spots were 
held in especial awe by the ancient Romans, and set apart 
as sacred to Pluto and infernal deities. The method of its 
construction will suit either supposition. Eight columns 
of tufa, one foot four inches in diameter, supported a cir- 
cular epistyle and roof. Under this is a structure resem- 
bling a circular perforated altar, such as was commonly 
placed for security round the mouth of wells. Exactly 
the same covering was placed over a bidental, and in 
either case it was alike called puteal. 

It has been supposed that the temple was erected on 
the site of a still older pottery, from the fragments of vases 
and tiles which have been discovered under the base. 
This spot is elevated considerably above the level of the 
plain, which it overlooks, and appears to have been the 
highest part of the isolated eminence on which Pompeii 
was built. Near the south-west corner of the building is 
an exedra, or seat, placed to afford the worshippers and 
others the full enjoyment of the magnificent and extensive 
view. The seat is semicircular, like those in the street of 
tombs. Anciently, the sea seems to have washed the foot 
of the hill, where now the road runs from Naples to No- 
cera, on the brow of which it is built ; and beyond a noble 
prospect presented itself to the eye, embracing Castella- 
mare, Vico, Sorrento, the promontory of Minerva, and 
the island of Capri, with almost the entire expanse of the 
dark blue bay of Naples. The city wall appears to have 
bounded the area upon this, the south side, so that the 
portico, which would have interrupted the view, was only 
continued along two sides. Parallel to the eastern portico 
there runs a long wall, terminated at one end by the altars 
already mentioned, and at the other by a pedestal, inscribed 
M. CLAUDIO. M.F. MARCELLO. PATRONO. 



THEATRES. 



257 




Plan of the large Theatre at Pompeii. 



In the eastern portico are four entrances to different 
parts of the theatre. The two first, as you enter, lead 
into a large circular corridor surrounding the whole cavea: 
the third opens on an area behind the scene, from which 
there is a communication with the orchestra and privileged 
seats : the fourth led down a long flight of steps, at the 
bottom of which you turn, on the right, into the soldiers' 
quarter, on the left, into the area already mentioned. The 
corridor is arched over : it has two other entrances, one 
by a large passage from the east side, another from a small- 
22* 



258 POMPEII. 

er passage on the north. Six inner doors^ called vomito- 
ria, opened on an equal number of staircases, which ran 
down to the first praecinctio. The theatre is formed upon 
the slope of a hill, the corridor being the highest part, so 
that the audience, upon entering, descended at once to 
their seats ; and the vast staircases, which conducted to 
the upper seats of the theatres and amphitheatres at Rome, 
were saved. By the side of the first entrance is a stair- 
case which led up to the women's gallery, above the cor- 
ridor : here the seats were partitioned into compartments, 
like our boxes. The benches were about one foot three 
inches high, and two feet four inches wide. One foot three 
inches and a half was allowed to each spectator, as may 
be ascertained in one part, where the divisions are marked 
off and numbered. There is space to contain about five 
thousand persons. ^ Here the middle classes sat, usually 
upon cushions which they brought with them ; the men of 
rank sat in the orchestra below on chairs of state carried 
thither by their slaves. Flanking the orchestra, and ele- 
vated considerably above it, are observable two divisions, 
appropriated, one perhaps to the proconsul, or duumvirs 
and their officers, the other to the vestal virgins, or to the 
use of the person who gave the entertainments. This is 
the more likely, because in the smaller theatre, where 
these boxes, if we may call them so, are also found, they 
have a communication with the stage. 

This theatre appears to have been entirely covered with 
marble ; the benches of the cavea were of marble, the 
orchestra was of marble, the scene with all its ornaments 
was also of marble ; and yet of this profusion of marble 
only a few fragments remain. It appears, from an inscrip- 
tion found in it, to have been erected, or much improved, 
by one Holconius Rufus. Upon the first step of the or- 
chestra was another inscription, composed of bronze let- 

* Donaldson's Pompeii. 



THEATRES. 259 

ters let into the marble. The metal has been carried away, 
bat the cavities in the marble still remain. They were 
placed so as partly to encompass a statue, and run thus : — 
M. HOLCONIO. M. F. RVFO. II V. I.D. QVINQ- 
VIENS. ITER. QVINQ. TRIE. MIL. A. P. FLA- 
MEN AVG. PATR. COLON. D.D. —signifying, 
that the colony dedicated this to its patron, M. Holco- 
nius Rufus, son of Marcus : then follow his titles. In the 
middle of this inscription is a vacant space, where proba- 
bly stood the statue of Holconius, as the cramps, by which 
something was fastened, still remain. Or possibly it may 
have been an altar, as it was the custom among the an- 
cients to sacrifice to Bacchus in the theatre. The an- 
nexed view represents the building which we have been 
describing, as seen from one of the entrances leading to 
the orchestra, having on the right hand the scene. In the 
wall which supported the front of the stage are seven re- 
cesses, similar to those discovered in the theatre at Her- 
culaneum. These have been supposed to be occupied by 
the musicians. ^ In front is the entrance to the orchestra ; 
above may be seen the six rows of steps which encircled 
it ; then the cavea, despoiled of its marble, but still show- 
ing the lines of benches, and stairs dividing them into 
cunei, and the vomitoria, or doors of entrance. Still 

* This represents a musician playing on the double flute. It is 
kept close to his mouth, and the breath hindered from escaping by 
a band, called ipopl^uov by the Greeks, capistrum by the Latins. 



260 



POMPEII. 




Flute-player, from a painting at Pompeii. 



THEATRES. 



261 




262 



POMPEII. 



higher is the women's gallery, and above that the external 
wallj which never was entirely buried, and might have 
pointed out to any curious observer the exact situation of 
Pompeii. In our general view, the reader will observe 
one of the masts which supported the velarium, or awning, 
restored : it passed through two rings of stone projecting 
from the internal face of the wall. At the Coliseum these 
masts were supported by consoles on the outside. 

Of the scene itself we have little to say. Enough re- 
mains to show that the three chief doors were situated in 



S^ 




Stone Rings, to receive the Masts of the Velarium, from the Great Theatre 
at Pompeii. 



THEATRES. 



263 



deep recesses ; those at the sides rectangular, the central 
one circular. In front of the latter were two columns. 
Behind it is the postscenium. From the eastern side of 
the stage a covered portico led into the orchestra of the 
small theatre, and seems to have been meant as a commu- 
nication between the privileged seats of either house, for 
the convenience of those who were entitled to them. At 
the end of this portico is another communication with the 
square called the soldiers' quarters. 

The same plan and the same disposition of parts are 
observable in the small theatre. In form, however^ it is 
different, and approaches nearer to a rectangle, the horns 




POSTSCENIUM , 
Plan of the small Theatre. 



264 POMPEII. 

of the semicircle being cut off by lines drawn perpendicu- 
lar to the front of the stage. Another, and a more remark- 
able difference is, that it appears to have been permanently 
roofed, from the following inscription : — 

C. aVINCTIVS . C. F. VALG, 

M. PORCIVS . M. F. 

DVO. VIR. DEC. DECK. 

THEATRVM . TECTVM 

FAC . LOCAR . EIDEMa . PROB . 

' Caius Quinctius Valgus, son of Caius, and Marcus 
PorciuSj son of Marcus, Duumvirs by a decree of the 
Decurions, let out the covered theatre to be erected by 
contract, and the same approved it.' It is supposed to 
have been erected shortly after the end of the Social 
war, and is inferior to the other theatre in decoration and 
construction. It is built of the tufa of Nocera, but the 
stairs which separate the cunei are of a very hard Vesu- 
vian lava, well fitted to withstand the constant action of 
ascending and descending feet. The front wall of the 
proscenium, the scene, and the pavement of the orchestra, 
were entirely marble. The latter is of various colours : 
African breccia, giallo antico, and a purple marble. A 
band of marble, striped grey and white, runs across it from 
end to end of the seats, in which are inlaid letters of bronze, 
eight inches and a half long, and level with the surface, 
forming the following inscription : — 

M. OCVLATIVS . M.F. VERUS . IIVIR . PRO. LVDIS. 

' Marcus Oculatius Verus, son of Marcus, Duumvir for 
the games,' signifying, probably, that he laid down the 
pavement. Within the orchestra itself there were four 
tiers of benches, upon which were placed the bisellii, or 
chairs of state, upon which the municipal authorities and 
persons of distinction sat. These were usually made of 
bronze, handsomely ornamented, and supported by four 
legs The Romans always provided conspicuous and dis- 



THEATRES. 



265 



tinct seats for their magistrates. The curule chair, com- 
posed of ivory, was peculiar to those of the metropohs ; 
the inhabitants of the colonies and municipalities placed 
their authorities upon a large chair, capable of containing 
two persons, though only one occupied it, whence this seat 
of honour was called bisellius. An inscription found at 
Nocera tells us that the perpetual Duumvirate was con- 
ferred on one M. Virtius ; and beneath is carved the bi- 



f 




<H 



266 POMPEII. 

sellius with its footstool (scabellum), and two iictors al 
the side, as the insignia of the Duumvirate. Two inscrip- 
tions in the street of tombs lead us to infer that this distinc- 
tion was highly prized by the ancients, and only given ta 
persons of eminent services or distinguished merit. Under 
both of them, bisellii, with their footstools and cushions^ 
are carved. These bisellii were of several forms and 
different heights, according to the places for which they 
were intended : the highest, probably, were meant for the 
highest authorities : but high and low they had footstools,, 
of one, two, three, or even more steps. Two have been 
found at Pompeii, of one of which we have given an en- 
graving. In form and ornament they are much alike, but 
they are very unequal in height. Both are made of bronze, 
inlaid with silver. In execution and elegance, they are 
equal, if not superior, to anything of the kind in modern 
art, and in the workmanship an extraordinary finish and 
accuracy is visible. These were placed, as we have said, 
on the four ranges of steps within the orchestra, which are 
not so deep as the steps of the cavea, nor have they places 
hollowed out for the feet, to defend the backs of the infe- 
rior row of spectators, the different arrangement of seats 
making this unnecessary. 

In the view of this small theatre which is given, the 
reader will plainly see the different parts of the building. 
Behind the four benches of the orchestra rises a high para- 
pet, which separated the privileged and unprivileged seats. 
Behind this ran the prsecinctio or landing, accessible from 
below by the four curved steps at each end of the orches- 
tra. Two of the stairs are visible, and a complete cuneus 
included between them. Above the cavea is the gallery 
for women. The cavea contained seventeen rows of seats: 
the only direct access to it is by a passage behind, also 
communicating with the orchestra of the large theatre, 
which opens into a circular corridor, where are the vomi- 
toria and stairs to ascend to the gallery. It has been com- 



THEATRES. 



267 




puted that there is accommodation for fifteen hundred per- 
sons. The ends of the parapet are ornamented with winged 
griffins' legs : behind, two sculptured figures, stoutly pro- 
portioned, appear to support the side-wall of the cavea, 



268 POMPEII. 

upon which ponderous bronze candelabra formerly stood. 
To the left are the stage, scene, and postscenium. The 
centre door, or valvae regiae, and one of the side ones, are 
visible, and the wall of the postscenium closes the view 
behind. The cavity running along the front of the stage 
was most likely meant to hold the curtain, which was rais- 
ed, not let down, when it was necessary to conceal the 
scene. The marble facings of this part of the building 
seem to have been carried away after the eruption of Vesu- 
vius. In front, there appear two entrances, one to the 
scene, the other to the orchestra : between them is a flight 
of steps which led up to the chamber or box above-men- 
tioned, as set apart probably for the person who celebrated 
the games. 

Adjoining the small theatre stands a large rectangular 
enclosure, called Forum Nundinarium, or provision mark- 
et, by some, — by others, the soldiers' quarters. It is one 
hundred and eighty-three feet long, and one hundred and 
forty-eight wide, surrounded by a Doric colonnade, hav- 
ing twenty-two columns on the longer sides, and seventeen 
on the shorter. Under this colonnade are a number of 
small chambers, which it is supposed were occupied by 
butchers, and vendors of vegetables, meats, and Uquors. 
In one of these, utensils for the manufactory of soap were 
discovered ; in another an oil-mill ; in another, supposed 
to have been a prison, stocks were found ; in another were 
pieces of armour, whence it is called the guard-room. 
The columns are constructed of volcanic tufa, fluted two- 
thirds of their height, covered with stucco, and painted, 
the lower part red, and the upper alternately red and yel- 
low, except the two centre ones of the east and west side, 
the upper parts of which are blue. Various inscriptions 
are traced with a hard point on the surface of the ninth 
column of the east side ; among them, the representation 
of a fighting Gladiator, with these letters — XX. Vale- 
rius. The surrounding walls were also covered with 



THEATRES. 



^69 



stucco, painted red below, with yellow above, and the 
lower chambers had red lines and ornaments rudely exe- 
cuted on a yellow ground. On the north-eastern side there 
was a direct communication with both theatres, and its 
porticos must have been of great utility to the spectators, 
affording additional shelter from the rains, when the por- 
ticos of the great theatre might have been crowded. The 
upper story of this building has been restored at one of the 
angles, upon the authority of various indications in the 
construction, from which it appears that there was a wood- 
en gallery all round the upper story, used as the means 
of communication from one room to another. Here was 
found a bronze helmet, highly enriched with bas-reliefs 
relating to the principal events of the capture of Troy. 
Another helmet found in Pompeii represents the triumphs 
of Rome in the midst of her vanquished enemies and cap- 




Bronze Helmet Ibuiid at Pompeii. 

23* 



270 



POMPEII. 




Specimen of the Greaves supposed to have been worn by the Gladiators. 



tives ; this one has a vizor, like those of the lower ages, 
with square and round holes to see through. From their 
size and weight, these pieces of armour have been sup- 
posed by some not to have been really worn, but only 
intended as ornaments for trophies ; but Sir W. Hamil- 



THEATRES. 271 

ton, who was present at their excavation, states distinctly, 
that he saw part of the Hnings adhering to them, now fallen 
out, and has no doubt but that they were meant for use, 
and of their having been worn. Greaves, or coverings 
for the shinSj made of bronze and highly ornamented, were 
discovered here ; on these were sculptured masks allud- 
ing to the dramatic representations. The most remarka- 
ble is one with a triple face representing the tragic, comic, 
and satiric features. 

From hence we will return to the httle theatre, and com- 
plete the circuit of this island, as the JRomans would have 
called it, of building, which, with the exception of two 
private houses, is entirely devoted to public purposes. 
These stand together behind the small theatre, their gar- 
dens separated from it by the broad passage above-men- 
tioned. The easternmost of them is one of the most in- 
teresting yet discovered in Pompeii, not for the beauty or 
curiosity of the building itself, but for its contents, which 
prove it to have been the abode of a sculptor. Here were 
found statues, some half finished, others just begun, with 
blocks of marble, and all the tools required by the artist. 
Among these were thirty-two mallets, many compasses, 
curved and straight ; a great quantity of chisels, three or 
four levers, jacks for raising blocks, saws, &c, &.c. On 
the north, a small temple, called of jiEsculapius, adjoins 
this house. The entrance leads into an open court, in 
which stands an altar, large out of all proportion to the 
size of the building, peculiar in its character, and bear- 
ing a striking resemblance to the monument in the Vatican 
commonly called the tomb of the Scipios ; the most re- 
markable points being the triglyphs with which the frieze 
is ornamented, which are of rare occurrence in construc- 
tions of this size and character, and the volutes at the cor- 
ners, which are not known to occur elsewhere. This court 
is traversed in its whole width by a flight of nine steps, on 
the top of which stands the temple itself, comprising a 
small square cell, with a tetrastyle pseudodipteral portico. 



272 



POMPEII. 




^ 



Proportional compasses, calipers, compasses, rule and weights for drawing per- 
pendicular lines and levelling, found in Pompeii. 

Here were found three terra-cotta statues of -SJsculapius, 
Hygeia, and Priapus. Upon its northern side are four 
apartments, one communicating with the court, which prob- 
ably were connected with this temple, or the adjoining one 
of Isis. 

Returning westward, along the northern side of this 
island of building, we come to the temple of Isis, separ- 
ated by a narrow passage leading to the great theatre, from 
the temple of -3Esculapius. Above the entrance is this 
inscription — 

N. POPIDIVS . N. F. CELSINVS. 
JEDEM . ISIDIS . TEllRiE . MOTV . CONLAPSAM 

A . FVNDAMENTIS. P. SVA. RESTITVIT. 

HVNC . DECVRIONES . OB . LIBER ALITATEM . 

CVM . ESSET. ANNORVM . SEXS . ORDINI . SVO . 

GRATIS . ADLEGERUNT. 



THEATRES. 273 

'Numerinus Popidius Celsinus, son of Numerinus, 
restored from the foundation, at his own expense, the 
shrine of Isis, overthrown by an earthquake. The De- 
curionSj on account of his HberaUty, elected him when 
sixty years of age to be one of their order free of expense.' 
The earthquake alluded to was probably that in the year 
63, sixteen years before the eruption of Vesuvius. 

This is one of the most perfect examples now existing 
of the parts and disposition of an ancient temple. A rude 
Corinthian portico encompasses the court ; the columns 
about one foot nine inches in diameter, the shafts painted. 
To the two nearest the entrance, two lustral marble ba- 
sins, now in the Museum of Naples, were found attached, 
and a wooden box, reduced to charcoal, probably a beg- 
ging-box to receive the contributions of worshippers. 
The aedes for the reader will observe that this little build- 
ing is not in the inscription called a temple, stands insu- 
lated in the centre of the court on an elevated podium, and 
is accessible by a flight of steps occupying only part of 
its front. On each side of the portico are altars. In 
front of the cell is a Corinthian tetrastyle portico, com- 
prising six columns. It is flanked by two wings, with 
niches for the reception of statues : behind that on the left 
are steps, and a side entrance to the cell. The whole 
exterior is faced with stucco decorations, capricious in 
style, and disfigured by a strange mixture of the very com- 
monest species of ornament. Within the temple, at the 
further end, a strip is parted ofl?*, probably for some juggling 
purposes connected with the worship of the temple. 

In the south-east corner of the enclosure is a small 
building, ornamented with pilasters, with an arched open- 
ing in the centre, and over the arch a representation of 
figures in the act of adoration ; a vase is placed between 
them. This building covered the sacred well, to which 
there is a descent by steps, and served probably for puri- 
fication of the worshippers, and other uses of the temple. 



274 POMPEII. 

The whole is grotesquely decorated with elegant though 
capricious stuccos, and whimsically painted. The ground- 
colour between the pilasters is yellow, that of the frieze 
red ; and the flat space between the arch and the pedi- 
ment is green, while within the arch it is yellow. The 
cornice was surmounted by terra-cotta antefixes, which, 
from a single fragment remaining, representing a mask, 
appear to have been executed with great taste and skill. 
On the court-wall, fronting the temple, stood a painted 
figure of Sigaleon, or Harpocrates, called by the Egyp- 
tians Orus, the son of Isis, represented pressing his fore- 
finger to his lip, to impress silence, and intimate that the 
mysteries of the worship were never to be revealed. Be- 
neath the niche is a shelf, perhaps to receive offerings, 
under which a board was found, supposed to have been 
meant to facilitate kneeling. In another part of the court, 
a beautiful figure of Isis was found standing on its pedes- 
tal ; the drapery painted purple, and in part gilt. She held 
in her hand the sistrum, an instrument peculiar to her ser- 
vice, made of bronze, in the form of a racket, with three 
loose bars across it, to serve the purpose of cymbals, or 
other noisy instruments ; in her left, the key of the sluices 
of the Nile. 

In the south side of the court, immediately opposite the 
entrance from the street, there are two chambers and a 
kitchen, with stoves, on which the bones of fish and other 
animals were found. A skeleton lay in the outermost 
room, supposed to be that of one of the priests, who hav- 
ing deferred probably to make his escape until it was too 
late to do so by the door, was attempting to break through 
the walls with an axe. He had already forced his way 
through two, but before he could pass a third, was stifled 
by the vapour. The axe was lying near his remains. Be- 
hind the temple is a large chamber, forty-two feet by twen- 
ty-five, in which another skeleton was found, who seems, 
like his companion, to have been at dinner, for chicken- 



THEATRES. 275 

bones, egg-shells, and earthen vases were near him. In 
the sacred precinct lay many other skeletons, supposed 
those of priests, who reposing a vain hope in the power of 
their deity, were unwilling to quit her protection, and re- 
mained until the accumulation of volcanic matter prevented 
them from seeking safety in flight. Pictures were to be 
seen of the priests of Isis, represented with the head close- 
ly shaven, robed in white linen, typical of the introduction 
of linen among the Egyptians by Isis. They were bound 
by their vows to celibacy ; never ate onions ; abstained 
from salt to their meat, and were forbidden the flesh of 
sheep or hogs. Fish, we learn from Plutarch, was their 
chief diet. They were employed day and night in un- 
remitting devotion round the statue of their deity. In 
front of this small edifice was an altar, on which sacrifices 
had been oflJered up : the top was burnt, and the bones of 
victims remained. The white stuccoed wall of the adjoin- 
ing edifice, containing the sacred well, was discoloured with 
the smoke from the fiie. Other altars or pedestals remain- 
ed within the enclosure. On the two flanking the steps 
which ascend to the temple, the basalt Isiac tables, with 
hieroglyphics, now to be seen in the Museum at Naples, 
were found. In several parts of the edifice were termini, 
or small square columns, surmounted with the heads of va- 
rious divinities. Statues also were discovered, among 
which was an image of Venus, with the arms and neck 
gilt. Paintings of architectural subjects were also discov- 
ered, detached from the walls ; two pictures of the cere- 
monials then in use among the priests of Isis, as well as 
a representation of Anubis, with the head of a dog ; many 
priests, with palms and ears of corn, and one holding a 
lamp in his hand ; there was also the representation of a 
hippopotamus and an ibis ; the lotus ; various birds ; and, 
on a pilaster, dolphins. -^11 the instruments of sacrifice, 
made of bronze, were obtained during the excavations. 
The modern aqueduct, executed by Dominico Fontana, 



276 POMPEII. 

which conveys the water of the Sarnus to the town of 
Torre del Annunciata, runs through the court of this tem- 
ple ; and the town having been here first discovered, it 
diverges, and is arched over, in consequence of the an- 
cient edifices above ground, which would otherwise have 
been destroyed. 

Between the temple of Isis and the propylaeum, or en- 
trance-portico to the Greek temple, with which we began 
the description of this quarter, is a square building, the 
purpose of which is not very well defined. By some it is 
called a curia, by others a school for the public lectures of 
rhetoricians, grammarians, and others who taught the vari- 
ous branches of polite education. This building seems to 
be designated by the word tribunal, in the inscription refer- 
red to in page 259 : — 

M. M. HOLCONI. RVFVS FL CELER 

CRYPTAM . TRIBVNAL . THEATRUM. S. P. 

AD . DECVS . COLONIC. 

It consists of a court, surrounded on three sides by a por- 
tico of the Doric order, with two rooms at one end, sup- 
posed to be the crypt, and an elevated pulpitum, for a 
speaker, at the side. The whole building is seventy-nine 
feet long, by fifly-seven wide ; the columns, like almost 
all found at Pompeii, are very high in proportion to their 
diameter (1:4), being in fact eight and a half diameters, 
while those of the Parthenon are not quite five and a half 
The intercolumniation is seven feet six inches, and the 
architrave was of course supported by beams. In the 
centre of the pillar is an elevation, placed to relieve the 
abacus of the superincumbent weight, which might perhaps 
have broken it. There are two entrances : one from the 
street ; the other, which has been much used and worn, 
from the portico surrounding the Greek temple. Between 
this building and the circular back wall of the great thea- 
tre, there is an open area, where stands a large square 



THEATRES. 



277 



mass of building, supposed by some to have been the foun- 
dation for a cistern. Its real purpose is doubtful. 

From hence we pass out into the portico surrounding 
the Greek temple, and conclude the survey of this interest- 
ing part of the city at the propylseum, vj^here we began it. 




Comic Mask on a Tile found in Pompeii. 



24 



CHAPTER IX. 



AMPHITHEATRES. 



Some hundred yards from the theatres, in the south- 
eastern angle of the walls of the town, stands the Amphi- 
theatre. The splendour of spectacle was carried to an 
extreme at Rome which has never been equalled. At an 
early period, a. u. 490, the practice of compelling human 
beings to fight for the amusement of spectators was intro- 
duced ; and twelve years later the capture of several ele- 
phants in the first Punic war proved the means of intro- 
ducing the chase, or rather the slaughter of wild beasts, 
into the Roman circus. The taste for these spectacles in- 
creased of course with its indulgence, and their magnifi- 
cence with the wealth of the city and the increasing facility 
and inducement to practice bribery, which was offered by 
the increased extent of provinces subject to Rome. It 
was not however until the last period of the republic, or 
rather until the domination of the Emperors had collected 
into one channel the tributary wealth which previously 
was divided among a numerous aristocracy, that buildings 
were erected solely for the accommodation of gladiatorial 
shows ; buildings apparently beyond the compass of a sub- 
ject's wealth, in which perhaps the magnificence of ancient 
Rome is most amply displayed. Numerous examples, 
scattered throughout her empire in a more or less advanced 
stage of decay, still attest the luxury and solidity of their 
construction : while at Rome the Coliseum asserts the 
pre-eminent splendour of the metropolis ; a monument 
surpassed in magnitude by the pyramids alone, and as 



AMPHITHEATRES. 



279 





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liili >''> 


1 






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ill l''f 


















1 illli ilii Tlli'll''''igl!ji^^^^M 






IH^B 






91 


iHii 


I 


||||i|i||^ 




■11 


'H 


1 


illMlrim^^W'^JwJ^ir^^iM 


mm. 


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superior to them in skill and varied contrivance of design, 
as to other buildings in its gigantic magnitude. Six hun- 
dred years had tried its stability, when its stately mass, 
unbroken by the efforts of barbarians, suggested the well- 
known expression recorded by Bede : ' Quamdiu stabit 



280 POMPEII. 

Colisseus^ stabit et Roma ; quando cadet Colysseus, cadet 
Roma ; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus.' — So long 
as the Coliseum stands, Rome shall stand : when the 
Coliseum falls, Rome will fall ; when Rome falls, the 
world will fall. Religious veneration united probably with 
the impressive recollection of that stupendous building to 
prompt this prediction ; which now seems not unlikely to 
be verified, but in a sense difl^erent to that which the author 
contemplated. The Coliseum, which Bede chose as the 
type of the stability of Roman greatness, more weakened 
by the peaceful plunders of a rapacious hierarchy, than by 
the attacks of barbarian invaders, or the wasting of time, 
is said already to show signs of approaching downfall ; 
and as of old the temporal empire of Rome, so the more 
oppressive spiritual empire which succeeded it has shrunk 
before the hardy tribes of the north. Rome and the Co- 
liseum are alike a wreck of what they have been, and may 
together crumble, and together come to their end. The 
world meanwhile retains its former youth and vigour : still 
that prediction has been more than usually fortunate, of 
which after the lapse of eleven centuries no part is proved 
false, and half is strengthened rather than impaired in 
credit. 

The Greek word, which by a slight alteration of its 
termination, we render Amphitheatre, signifies a theatre, 
or place of spectacles, forming a continuous inclosure, in 
opposition to the simple theatre, which, as we have said, 
was semicircular, but with the seats usually continued 
somewhat in advance of the diameter of the semicircle. 
The first amphitheatre seems to have been that of Curio, 
already described, consisting of two moveable theatres 
which could be placed face to face, or back to back, ac- 
cording to the species of amusement for which they were 
required. From the construction of its parts, therefore, 
we may presume that one of its diameters was longer than 
the other, and derive from hence the elliptical or oval form 



AMPHITHEATRES. 281 

usually given to these buildings, in preference to the cir- 
cular form, which appears best calculated for the conve- 
nience of the whole body of spectators. Usually, gladia- 
torial shows were given in the Forum, and the chase, and 
combats of wild beasts exhibited in the Circus, where once, 
when Pompey was celebrating games, some enraged ele- 
phants broke through the barrier which separated them 
from the spectators. This circumstance, together with 
the unsuitableness of the Circus, which was divided into 
two compartments by the spina, a low wall surmounted 
by pillars, obelisks, and other ornamental erections, and 
besides, from its disproportionate length, was ill adapted to 
afford a general view to all the spectators, determined 
Julius Csesar, in his dictatorship, to construct a wooden 
theatre in the Campus Martins, built especially for hunt- 
ing (OeaTQov xvvr/ysTLzov^, ^ which was called amphitheatre 
[apparently the first use of the word], because it was en- 
compassed by circular seats without a scene. '^ The first 
permanent amphitheatre was built partly of stone and partly 
of wood, by Statilius Taurus, at the instigation of Augus- 
tus, who was passionately fond of these sports, especially 
of the hunting of rare beasts. This was burnt during the 
reign of Nero, and, though restored, fell short of the wish- 
es of Vespasian, who commenced the vast structure, com- 
pleted by his son Titus, and afterwards called the Coli- 
seum, otherwise the Flavian amphitheatre. The expense 
of this building it is said would have sufficed to erect a 
capital city, and, if we may credit Dion, 9000 wild beasts 
were destroyed in its dedication. Eutropius restricts the 
number to 5000. When the hunting was over the arena 
was filled with water, and a sea-fight ensued. 

The construction of these buildings so much resembles 
the construction of theatres, that it will not be necessary 
to describe them at any great length. Without, they usu- 

* Dion Cassius, xliii. 
24^ 



i 



282 POMPEII. 

ally presented to the view an oval wall, composed of two 
or more stories of arcades, supported by piers of different 
orders of architecture adorned with pilasters, or attached 
pillars. Within, an equal number of stories of galleries 
gave access to the spectatory at different elevations, and 
the inchned plane of the seats was also supported upon 
piers and vaults, so that the ground plan presented a num- 
ber of circular rows of piers, arranged in radii converging 
to the centre of the arena. A suitable number of doors 
opened upon the ground floor, and passages from thence, 
intersecting the circular passages between the piers, gave 
an easy access to every part of the building. Sometimes 
a gallery encompassed the whole, and served as a com- 
mon access to all the stairs which led to the upper stories. 
This was the case in the amphitheatre at Nismes. Some- 
times each staircase had its distinct communication from 
without : this was the case at Verona. The arrangement 
of the seats was the same as in theatres ; they were divid- 
ed horizontally by prsecinctiones, and vertically into cunei 
by staircases. The scene and apparatus of the stage was 
of course wanting, and its place occupied by an oval area, 
called arena, from the sand with which it was sprinkled, to 
absorb the blood shed, and give a firmer footing than that 
afforded by a stone pavement. It was sunk twelve or fif- 
teen feet below the lowest range of seats, to secure the 
spectators from injury, and was besides fenced with round 
wooden rollers, turning in their sockets, placed horizontally 
against the wall, such as the reader may have observed 
placed on low gates to prevent dogs from climbing over, 
and with strong nets. In the time of Nero these nets 
were knotted with amber ;^ and the Emperor Carinus 
caused these to be made of golden cord or wire.| Some- 
times, for more complete security, ditches, called euripiy 
surrounded the arena. This was first done by Caesar, as 

* Pliny, lib. xxxv. t Calpurnius. 



AMPHITHEATRES. 293 

the fall of the republic, when party rage scrupled not to 
have recourse to open violence, questions of the highest 
import were debated in the streets of the city by the most 
despised of its slaves. In the conspiracy of Catiline so 
much danger was apprehended from them, that particular 
measures were taken to prevent their joining the disaffected 
party: an event the more to be feared, because of the des- 
perate war in which they had engaged the republic a few 
years before, under the command of the celebrated Spar- 
tacus. At a much later period, at the triumph of Probus, 
A.D. 281, about fourscore gladiators exhibited a similar 
courage. Disdaining to shed their blood for the amuse- 
ment of a cruel people, they killed their keepers, broke 
out from the place of their confinement, and filled the 
gjtreets of Rome with blood and confusion. After an ob- 
stinate resistance they were cut to pieces by the regular 
troops. 

The oath which they took upon entering the service is 
preserved by Petronius, and is couched in these terms : 
^ We swear after the dictation of Eumolpus to suffer death 
by fire, bonds, stripes, and the sword ; and, whatever else 
Eumolpus may command, as true gladiators, we bind our- 
selves body and mind to our master's service.' 

From slaves and freedmen the inhuman sport at length 
spread to persons of rank and fortune, insomuch that Au- 
gustus was obliged to issue an edict, that none of sena- 
torial rank should become gladiators ; and soon after he 
laid a similar restraint on the knights. Succeeding em- 
perors, according to their characters, encouraged or en- 
deavoured to suppress this degrading taste. Nero is re- 
lated to have brought upwards of four hundred senators 
and six hundred knights upon the arena ; and in some of 
his exhibitions, even women of quality contended publicly. 
The excellent Marcus Aurehus not only retrenched the 
enormous expenses of these amusements, but ordered that 
gladiators should contend only with blunt weapons. But 
25* 



294 POMPEII. 

they were not abolished until some time after the introduc- 
tion of Christianity. Constantino pubhshed the first edict 
which condemned the shedding of human blood ; and or- 
dered that criminals condemned to death should rather be 
sent to the mines, than reserved for the service of the am- 
phitheatre. In the reign of Honorius, when he was cele- 
brating with magnificent games the retreat of the Goths 
and the deliverance of Rome, an Asiatic monk, by name 
Telemachus, had the boldness to descend into the arena 
to part the combatants. ' The Romans were provoked by 
this interruption of their pleasures ; and the rash monk 
was overwhelmed under a shower of stones. But the 
madness of the people soon subsided ; they respected the 
memory of Telemachus who had deserved the honours of 
martyrdom, and they submitted without a murmur to the 
laws of Honorius, which abolished for ever the human 
sacrifices of the amphitheatre.' ^ This occurred a. d. 404. 
It was not however until the year 500 that the practice 
was finally and completely abolished by Theodoric. 

Some time before the day appointed for the spectacle, 
he who gave it (editor) published bills containing the name 
and ensigns of the gladiators, for each of them had his own 
distinctive badge, and stating also how many were to fight, 
and how long the show would last. It appears, that like 
our itinerant showmen, they sometimes exhibited paintings 
of what the sports were to contain. On the appointed 
day, the gladiators marched in procession with much cere- 
mony into the amphitheatre. They then separated into 
pairs, as they had been previously matched. At first, how- 
ever, they contended only with staves called riides, or with 
blunted weapons ; but when warmed and inspirited by the 
pretence of battle, they changed their weapons, and ad- 
vanced at the sound of trumpets to the real strife. The 
conquered looked to the people or to the Emperor for life ; 

* Gibbon, chap. xxx. 



AMPHITHEATRES. 



295 




296 POMPEII. 

his antagonist had no power to grant or to refuse it ; but 
if the spectators were dissatisfied and gave the signal of 
deathj he was obliged to become the executioner of their 
will. This signal was the turning down the thumbs, as 
is well known. If any showed signs of fear, their death 
was certain ; if on the other hand they waited the fatal 
stroke with intrepidity, the people generally relented. But 
fear and want of spirit were of very rare occurrence, in- 
somuch that Cicero more than once proposes the principle 
of honour which actuated gladiators, as an admirable mod- 
el of constancy and courage, by which he intended to ani- 
mate himself and others to suffer everything in defence of 
the commonwealth. 

The bodies of the slain were dragged with a hook through 
a gate called Libitinensis, the Gate of Death, to the spoil- 
avium : the victor was rewarded with a sum of money con- 
tributed by the spectators, or bestowed from the treasury, 
or a palm-branch, or a garland of palm ornamented with 
coloured ribbons ; ensigns of frequent occurrence in an- 
cient monuments. Those who survived three years were 
released from this service^ and sometimes one who had 
given great satisfaction was enfranchised on the spot. This 
was done by presenting the staff, rudis^ which was used in 
preluding to the combat : on receiving which, the gladia- 
tor, if a freeman, recovered his liberty ; if a slave, he was 
not made free, but was released from the obligation of ven- 
turing his life any further in the arena. 

Gladiators were divided, according to the fashion of their 
armour and offensive weapons, into classes, known by the 
names of Thrax, Samnis, Myrmillo, and many others, of 
which a mere catalogue would be tedious, and it would be 
the work of a treatise to ascertain and describe their dis- 
tinctive marks. The reader who has any curiosity upon 
the subject may consult the Saturnalia of Lipsius, in which 
a vast body of minute information is collected. It falls 
however strictly within our province to describe a tomb at 



AMPHITHEATRES. 297 

Pompeii, ornamented with bas-reliefs in good preservation, 
which represent the two branches of amusements practised 
in the amphitheatre — hunting, and gladiatorial fights, and 
throw a light upon many parts of our subject. 

It is situated in the street of tombs, as it is called, with- 
out the gate leading to Herculaneum, and consists of a 
square chamber, serving as a basement, surmounted by 
three steps, upon which, and on the uppermost part of the 
basement are placed the sculptures, of which we proceed 
to speak. The whole is terminated by a square cippus, 
or funeral pillar, which bore the following inscription : — 

RICIO . A. F. MEN 

SCAVRO 

n VIR . I . D 

- - - ECVRIONES. LOCVM. MONVM . 

-- CO CO IN. FVNERE ET. STATVAM EaVESE. 

ORO. FONENDAM . CENSVERVNT . 

SCAVRVS. PATER. FILIO, 

To=^ Aricius Scaurus son of Aulus, of the tribe Menenia^ 
Duumvir of Justice, by command of the decurions. The 
decurions decreed the site of the monument, two thousand 
sesterces for funeral expenses, and an equestrian statue in 
the Forum. Scaurus the father to his son. 

We give drawings of the most interesting of these sculp- 
tures from Mazois, to whose researches we are also indebt- 
ed for the following account of them. The earlier ones 
relate to the chase (venatio)^ and are taken from the steps 
which support the cippus. The first represents a man, 
naked and unarmed between a lion and a panther : the 

* The marble is broken, so that the first name {prcenomen) and 
the first letters of the name are lost. The latter has been differ- 
ently read Aricius, Castricius, Patricius : which is right is of little 
importance. The beginnings of all the longer lines are wanting, 
and the symmetry of the inscription would lead us to suppose that 
the cypher which stands for a thousand should be prefixed once 
oftener in the fifth line : which will make three thousand sesterces, 
about £24. 



298 



POMPEII. 






AMPHITHEATRES. 299 

second, a wild boar apparently running at a man, also 
naked and defenceless, and in a half recumbent posture. 
Mazois conjectures that these figures were of that class 
of combatants who, trusting in their activity alone, entered 
the arena merely to provoke the wild beasts after they 
were let loose ; and he adds that this dangerous exercise 
is still practised in the bull-fights at Rome. Defenceless 
as these figures are, they show no signs of alarm, and in 
particular he who is opposed to the boar seems collecting 
himself for a spring to baffle his enemy. In the continua- 
tion of the same rehef is a wolf at full speed, gnawing a 
javelin deeply fixed in his chest, and farther on a stag, with 
a rope attached to his horns, pulled down by two dogs, or 
wolves. The next group is the most curious of this series, 
for it seems to represent the process by which the bestiarii 
were trained in their profession. It exhibits *a youth, his 
legs and thighs protected by a sort of armour, a javelin in 
each hand, attacking a panther. The freedom of the 
beast's movements is hampered by a cord attached at one 
end to a collar round its neck, and at the other to a broad 
girth which passes round the body of a bull. By this ar- 
rangement the novice is in part protected, while at the 
same time far more activity and wariness is required than 
if the animal were attached to a fixed point. Behind the 
bull is another figure with a lance, who seems to goad the 
bull forwards, and thus offer more scope for movement to 
the panther. 

Another bas-relief represents a man fighting a bear ; a 
sword in one hand, and a veil in the other, the very equip- 





300 POMPEII. 

ment of the matador in the Spanish bull-fights to the pre- 
sent day. This circumstance^ of little importance in it- 
self, deserves remark, because it serves to fix the period 
of the construction of the tomb. We learn from Pliny * 
that the veil was not employed in the arena against vi^ild 
beasts before the reign of Claudius. Claudius became 
Emperor a.d. 41. In the year 59 all theatrical exhibi- 
tions were interdicted for ten years. Four years after- 
wards occurred the earthquake, to which we have had 
occasion to make frequent reference ; and as the building 
bears evident marks of injury from this cause, and repair, 
we must conclude that it was erected at some time between 
the dates already given, probably during the ten or twelve 
years antecedent to the year 59. 

The sculptures on the basement are divided into two 
lines of figures, forming a sort of double frieze. Here, 
as in the upper series, they are made of stucco ; indeed 
there is no marble about the tomb, except the slab, on 
which the inscription was engraved. The figures appear 
to have been moulded separately, and attached to the plas- 
ter ground by brass or iron pins, more frequently the lat- 
ter. These in many instances have been destroyed by 
rust, and have suffered the figures to drop. It is worthy 
of observation that the sculpture has been in part restored, 
and that under the present figures others have been found, 
of better workmanship, and, in some instances, differently 
armed. 

In various portions of the frieze are written, the name 
of the person to whom the gladiators belonged, one Am- 
pliatus, the names of the combatants, and the number of 
their victories. Ampliatus probably was the lanista of the 
city ; for an inscription found on the outer wall of the basi- 
lica states that the family of N. Festus Ampliatus will con- 
tend a second time on the 17th May. These names are 
written in black, the letters narrow and ill shaped. 

* viii, 16. 



AMPHITHEATRES. 301 

The upper frieze contains eight pairs of gladiators. 
The first pair, on the left, represents an equestrian com- 



BEBRIXM 




bat. The first figure is called Bebrix, a barbarous name 
which denotes a foreign origin. The numerals added to 
his name denote the number of contests in which he has 
been victorious ; they are much effaced, but have been 
r^ad XII. * His adversary is called Nobilior, and reck- 
ons XI victories. Both are armed alike with a light lance, 
a round buckler (parma) elegantly ornamented, and hel- 
mets, with vizors which cover the whole face, and more 
resemble the helmets of the middle ages than the Roman 
helmet as it is usually represented. The right arms of 
both, and the thigh of Nobilior, are protected by a sort of 
armour resembling successive bands of iron. These two 
gladiators are clothed in the induculay a short and light 
cloak which formed part of the dress of the Roman 
knights ; the legs are naked. Bebrix has shoes resem- 

* The letters IVI occur over most of the figures. In conjunc- 
tion with the numerals, Mazois seems to interpret them, * conquered 
eo many times ; ' but he does not tell of what word he suppose! 
them to be the abbreviation : nor are we prepared to sujg;firest any. 
26 



302 



FCrMPErr* 



bling those now in use, but Nobilior wears tbe semiplotia^ 
a kind of hunting-shoe bound with thongs round the leg.* 
The horse is covered with the sagtna, a square saddle- 
cloth in use among the Roman cavalry : the crupper is 
painted red. The action of the figures is good. Bebrix 
appears to have aimed at Nobilior a blow with his lance, 
who having received it on the buckler, attacks in his turn 
Bebrix, who now places himself on the defensive. 

The group next in succession represents two gladiators 
whose names are defaced. The first wears a helmet hav- 
ing a vizor, much ornamented, with the long buckler 
(scutum). It is presumed that he should have for offen- 
sive weapon a sword, but the sculptor has neglected to 
lepresent it. Like all the other gladiators he wears the 



W^ixvi 




subligaculum, a short apron of red or white stuff fixed 
above the hips by a girdle of bronze or embroidered 
leather. On the right leg is a kind of buskin, commonly 
made of coloured leather, on the left an ocrea or greave, 



* Similar to the moccasins of the Indians, or the Scotch brogue. 
A similar article of home manufacture, made of raw hide, is still in 
use among the peasants of southern Italy. — See Pinelli's Costumes, 



AMPHITHEATRES. SOS 

eot reaching to the knee. The left leg is thus armed, be- 
cause that side of the body was the most exposed by the 
ancients^ whose guard on account of the buckler was the 
reverse of the modern guard ; the rest of the body is en- 
tirely naked. The other figure is armed with a helmet 
ornamented with wings, a smaller buckler, thigh-pieces 
formed of plates of iron, and on each leg the high greave, 
called by the Greeks yivri^ig. These figures appear to 
represent one of the light- armed class, called Veles^ and 
a Samnite {Samnis), so called because they were armed 
after the old Samnite fashion. The former, who has been 
sixteen times a conqueror in various games, has at last 
encountered a more fortunate, or a more skilful adversary. 
He is wounded in the breast, and has let fall his buckler, 
avowing himself conquered ; at the same time he implores 
the pity of the people by raising his finger towards them — 
for it was thus that the gladiators begged their life. Be- 
hind him the Samnite awaits the answering sign from the 
spectators, that he may spare his antagonist, or strike the 
death-blow, as they decree. The third couple represents 
( Thrax) a Thracian, so called from the fashion of his 
armour, especially the round Thracian shield (parma), 
and one called Myrmillo, a name of doubtful origin. It 
appears, however, that the Myrmillones were for the most 
part Gauls, and armed somewhat in the Gallic style, and 
that the Thrax and the Myrmillo were usually opposed 
to each other. The Thrax wears a helmet, with greaves 
and thigh-pieces like those of the Samnite : and we may 
here observe that the right arm of every figure is protect- 
ed by a banded armour which we have already described. 
The upper part of the body is naked. The dress of the 
Myrmillo is nearly the same, except that he has not the 
thigh-pieces. A conqueror XV times, he is now worst- 
ed ; and his adversary gains the XXXVth victory, and 
the letter O over his head, the initial of OavMv, indicates 
that he was put to death. The M which precedes it is 
ii^erpreted to be the initial of Myrmillo. 



304 



POMPEII. 




The next group consists of four figures. Two are secu- 
toreSj followers, the other two retiarii, net-men, armed 
only with a trident and net, with which they endeavoured 
to entangle their adversary, and then despatch him. These 
classes like the Thrax and Myrmilio, were usual anta- 



AMPHITHEATRES. 305 

gonists, and had their name from the secutor following the 
retiarius, who eluded the pursuit until he found an oppor- 
tunity to throw his net to advantage. Nepimus, one of 
the latter, five times victoriouSj has fought against one of 
the former, whose name is lost, but who had triumphed 
six times in different combats. He has been less fortu- 
nate in this battle. Nepimus has struck him in the leg, 
the thigh, and the left arm ; his blood runs, and in vain 
he implores mercy from the spectators. As the trident 
with which Nepimus is armed is not a weapon calculated 
to inflict speedy and certain death, the secutor Hyppolitus 
performs this last office to his comrade. The condemned 
wretch bends the knee, presents his throat to the sword, 
and throws himself forward to meet the blow, while Nepi- 
mus his conqueror pushes him and seems to insult the last 
moments of his victim. In the distance is the retiarius 
who must fight Hyppolitus in his turn. The secutors have 
a very plain helmet, that their adversary may have little 
or no opportunity of pulling it off with the net or trident ; 
the right arm is clothed in armour, the left bore a clypeus 
or large round shield ; a sandal tied with narrow bands 
forms the covering for their feet. They wear no body 
armour, no covering but a cloth round the waist, for by 
their lightness and activity alone could they hope to avoid 
death and gain the victory. The retiarii have the head 
bare, except a fillet bound round the hair ; they have no 
shield, but the left side is covered with a demi-cuirass, and 
the left arm protected in the usual manner, except that 
the shoulder-piece is very high. They wear the caliga, 
or low boot common to the Roman soldiery, and bear the 
trident ; but the net with which they endeavoured to en- 
velope their adversaries is nowhere visible. This bas- 
relief is terminated by the combat between a light-armed 
gladiator and a Samnite. This last beseeches the specta- 
tors to save him, but it appears from the action of the 
principal figure that this is not granted. The conqueror 
26* 



306 



POMPEII. 



looks towards the steps of the amphitheatre, he has seen 
the fatal signal, and in reply prepares himself to strike. 




Between the pilasters of the door the frieze is conti- 
nued. Two combats are represented ; in the first a Sam- 
nite has been conquered by a Myrmillo. This last wishes 
to become his comrade's executioner without waiting the 
answer from the people, to whom the vanquished has ap- 
pealed ; but the lanista checks his arm, from which it 




AMPHITHEATRES. 



307 



would seem that the Sarnnite obtained pardon. The fol- 
lowing pair exhibits a similar combat, in which the Myrmillo 
falls stabbed to death. The wounds, the blood, and the 
inside of the bucklers, are painted of a very bright red 




colour. The swords, with the exception of that of Hyp- 
politus, are omitted ; it is possible that it was intended to 
make them of metal. 

The bas-reliefs constituting the lower frieze are devoted 
to the chase, and to combats between men and animals. 




In the upper part are hares pursued by a dog ; beyond is 
a wounded stag pursued by dogs, to whom he is about to 
become the prey: below, a wild boar is seized by an enor- 
mous dog, who has already caused his blood to flow. 



308 



POMPEII. 




<^# 



In the middle of the composition a bestiarius has trans- 
fixed a bear with a stroke of his lance. This person wears 
a kind of short hunting-boot, and is clothed as well as his 
comrade in a light tunic without sleeves, bound round the 
hips, and called indusia^ subucula. It was the dress of the 
common people, as we learn from the sculptures on Tra- 
jan's column. The companion of this man has transfixed 
a bull, which flies, carrying with him the heavy lance with 
which he is wounded. He turns his head towards his 




assailant, and seems to wish to return to the attack; the 
man by his gestures appears astonished, beholding him- 
self disarmed and at the mercy of the animal, whom he 
thought mortally stricken. Pliny (lib. viii, cap. 45) speaks 
of the ferocity shown by bulls in these combats, and of 



AMPHITHEATRES. 



309 



having seen them, when stretched for dead on the arena, 
lift themselves up and renew the combat. The following 
cuts represent the helmets of two of the figures at large, 
and the greaves, or boots. 







In the interior of this tomb is a vaulted sepulchral cham- 
ber, the arch of which and the upper part of the monu- 
ment is supported by a massive pier, pierced by four small 
arches, niches rather, except that they traverse its whole 
thickness, three of which were closed with glass and the 
fourth with a thick veil fastened with nails. This kind of 
tabernacle, contrived thus in the centre of the pier, did 
not contain anything when discovered, but it is probable 
that it was meant for a lamp, from the care taken to shut 



310 POMPEII. 

up the sides with glass, leaving one aperture for the ad- 
mission of air. The arches seem to have been closed that 
the wind might not extinguish the lamp when the door was 
opened. Fourteen niches pierced round the inside of the 
apartment were destined to receive as many cinerary urns; 
daylight was admitted through a small opening at the back 
of the building, around which a wall is drawn, forming a 
small enclosure. 

Another sort of amphitheatrical amusements consisted 
in witnessing the death of persons under sentence of the 
law, either by the hands of the executioner, or by being 
exposed to the fury of savage animals. The early Chris- 
tians were especially subjected to this species of cruelty. 
Nero availed himself of the prejudice against them to turn 
aside popular indignation after the great conflagration of 
Rome, which is commonly ascribed to his own wanton love 
of mischief; and we learn from Tertullian, that, afler 
great public misfortunes, the cry of the populace was, ^ To 
the lions with the Christians.'* The Coliseum now owes 
its preservation to the Christian blood so profusely shed 
within its walls. After serving during ages as a quarry 
of hewn stone for the use of all whose station and power 
entitled them to a share in public plunder, it was at last 
secured from further injury by Pope Benedict XIV, who 
consecrated the building about the middle of the last cen- 
tury, and placed it under the protection of the martyrs, who 
had there borne testimony with their blood to the sincerity 
of their belief 

AMPHITHEATRE OF POMPEII. 

There is nothing in the amphitheatre of Pompeii at vari- 
ance with the general description which we have given of 
this class of buildings, and our notice of it will therefore 
necessarily be short. Its form, as usual, is oval : the 

* Tertullian, Apol. 40. 



AMPHITHEATRES. 313 




Bronze Helmet, supposed to have been worn by a Gladiator. 

Having now described all the public buildings of Pom- 
peii, it will not be out of place to say a few words on their 
architectural character. The city, as might be expected 
from its antiquity, and from its change of masters, having 
been a Greek colony long before its subjugation by the 
Romans, presents us with examples both of Greek and 
Roman architecture, domestic as well as public. The 
Romans borrowed their knowledge of building from the 
Greeks, but they borrowed it as imitators, not as copyists : 
they aimed at variety, by altering the details and propor- 
tions of the several orders, and what they gained in nov- 
elty they lost in beauty. Hence the Doric and Ionic of 
the one are immediately distinguishable from the Doric 
and Ionic of the other: the difference between the Corin- 
thian orders is less perceptible, consisting chiefly in the 
foliage of the capital. In Greece the Doric gradually 
changed its character, being most robust in the most an- 
cient examples. But the standard examples of it, built 
in the age of Pericles, are still robust in character, with 
27 



314 POMPEII. 

twenty flutings, or longitudinal channels cut in the pillars. 
The Romans made the column more slender, and at the 
same time increased the number of flutings. The ori- 
ginal was placed upon the temple floor, without even a 
plinth — the copy was raised upon a pedestal ; the capital 
of the former was grave and simple — that of the latter 
was more elaborate, and enriched with varied mouldings. 
At Pompeii the most characteristic parts of the buildings, 
the entablatures and capitals, are almost all destroyed ; 
still enough remains for us in most instances to ascertain 
the style of what remains, and consequently to ascribe to 
them something like a comparative date. Thus the co- 
lumns which surround the Forum fulfil the above named 
conditions of the Grecian Doric ; they have no base, con- 
tain twenty flutings, and have a simple capital. Similar 
in style are those of the triangular forum in the quarter of 
the theatres ; and the schools or tribunal, and the square 
called the soldiers' quarters are also evidently of Greek 
design and construction, though repaired by their last pos- 
sessors. It is to be observed, however, that the Doric of 
Pompeii, though it preserves the Greek taste in the detail 
of its mouldings, is exceedingly slender, and in this respect 
varies materially from the most esteemed models of the 
order. 

Another characteristic of Greek architecture, which 
points out its originality in a striking manner, is that the 
profiles of all its mouldings are drawn by hand, and can- 
not be mechanically described, whereas the Roman mould- 
ings are all formed on some geometrical construction. 
Hence the latter are always similar, v^hile the former ad- 
mit of indefinite variety, according to circumstances which 
might influence the architect, though they escape our no- 
tice. The reader may see an instance of this in a capital 
from the Parthenon, now in the court-yard of the British 
Museum. Upon cursory examination the projecting mould- 
ing of the capital under the abacus would be taken for the 
frustum of a cone, whereas it is really a very delicate curve. 



^ AMPHITHEATRES. 315 

What the object of the architect was in tracing this line, 
which viewed from below must have appeared a straight 
line, it may not be easy to determine, but without doubt 
in taking this trouble he was influenced by some delicate 
perception of beauty. It is from this peculiarity in the 
mouldmgs that we conclude the small portico, propyleeum, 
or entrance to the triangular forum, was designed by a 
Greek architect. It is of the Ionic order ; the mouldings 
and the volutes or spiral horns are more elegant than in 
the Roman style. In addition to this the deep sinking 
under some of the mouldings, which the strictness of Ro- 
man rules did not allow, stamp it as a Greek work, where 
variety and thought was permitted. 

The capital of the Ionic order found in this city differs 
in one respect from all the examples, both Greek and Ro- 
man, with which we are acquainted. We allude to the 
ornamented echinus moulding which runs under the vo- 
lutes, which usually is carved to represent eggs within a 
shell, thus, 



But in the Pompeian examples the egg is very small, and 
the shell or husk is of a different form, more like the sec- 
tion of a horse-chestnut, showing a small portion of the 
nut where the rind is partially split, from which indeed the 
idea may possibly have been taken. 




The Basilica is similar in the details of its architecture 
to the celebrated Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, supposed to 
have been erected by a Greek architect, and displays marks 
of Grecian taste. 



/ 



316 POMPEII. 






The oldest building in Pompeii is the Temple of Her- 
cules, perhaps erected by the first Greek colonists, or at 
least raised on the site of a more ancient temple. It is 
. D(5ric, and of course Grecian : and the style observable 
in its scanty remains leads the learned to refer it to the 
most remote antiquity. The most remarkable feature is 
the swelling of the flat part of the echinus moulding which, 
when the order became perfected in the Parthenon and 
Temple of Theseus at Athens, was made flat or insensibly 
curved, as may be seen in the capital above referred to. 
The basements also of some of the temples may be con- 
sidered as more ancient than the columns reared upon 
them, and it is very possible that both the basement of the 
Temple of Jupiter and that of the Temple of Venus may 
be of Greek construction. The Romans either repaired 
or rebuilt many of the public buildings of the city ; the 
ruins of brick at the end of the Forum, opposite the Tem- 
ple of Jupiter, were built by them ; the baths, with their 
vaulted ceiling, they also constructed. The Temple of 
Fortune was erected by a Roman individual, as the inscrip- 
tion sets forth ; and the Pantheon, Temple of Mercury, 
with the building placed between them, as well as the 
crypto-portico of Eumachia, which is partly built of brick, 
bear evident marks of a Roman origin. The Temple of 
Venus may be considered as Roman, its original Greek 
design having been changed by a coat of plaster, as we 
have already observed. The theatres and amphitheatre 
are evidently Roman. That the former were so is ascer- 
tained from inscriptions, while the latter was, as we well 
know, of their own invention. The triumphal arches are 
of course Roman, such buildings having been unknown 
to the Greeks. In private dwellings, as well as in public 
edifices, the same mixed character is evident, and adds to 
their interest. 



THE END. 



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